Police Departments across the country have a serious problem.
Much of the Public no longer trusts them.
And much of this widening Distrust can be traced back to individual Police Departments failing to follow or enforce, their own "standards" for ethical behavior.
Standards such as those published by the National Institute of Justice.
Police Integrity -- Overview of Integrity
National Institute of Justice
A police force with integrity is one with little or no misconduct or corruption. In the past, most studies viewed the problem of misconduct as one of individual problem officers, the so-called bad apples on the force. More recent studies show that whites generally see misconduct as episodic and confined to individual officers, while blacks tend to see misconduct as a more entrenched aspect of policing.[1]
Management and Culture Affect Integrity
Current research finds that the management and culture of a department are the most important factors influencing police behavior.[2] How the department is managed will dramatically affect how officers behave toward citizens. And how officers behave toward citizens will affect whether citizens view law enforcement as an institution with integrity.
[...]
Defining values and principles and incorporating them into every facet of operations may be more important than hiring decisions. Diligence in detecting and addressing misconduct will show officers that managers practice what they preach.
How to Improve Integrity
Findings from a study of 3,235 officers from 30 mostly municipal law enforcement agencies reveal the following recommendations for police managers[4]:
• Address and discipline minor offenses so officers learn that major offenses will be disciplined too.
• Open the disciplinary process to public scrutiny.
• Rotate officer assignments to discourage the formation of bonds that lead officers to cover up the misconduct of others.
[...]
Integrity starts from the Top-down. It is a systematic ethos that says the abuse of the Public Trust will not be tolerated.
Distrust starts from the Bottom-up. It is an individual experience that says, this treatment is an abuse of Power -- and an abuse of the Public Trust.
This "sanctioned" mis-treatment of Constitutionally-protected citizens, can have some serious consequences -- consequences both to the safety and civil opportunities of ALL citizens, so protected.
Race, Trust and Police Legitimacy
National Institute of Justice
Research consistently shows that minorities are more likely than whites to view law enforcement with suspicion and distrust. Minorities frequently report that the police disproportionately single them out because of their race or ethnicity.
The public's perceptions about the lawfulness and legitimacy of law enforcement are an important criterion for judging policing in a democratic society. Lawfulness means that police comply with constitutional, statutory and professional norms. Legitimacy is linked to the public's belief about the police and its willingness to recognize police authority.
Racial and ethnic minority perceptions that the police lack lawfulness and legitimacy, based largely on their interactions with the police, can lead to distrust of the police. Distrust of police has serious consequences. It undermines the legitimacy of law enforcement, and without legitimacy police lose their ability and authority to function effectively.
[...]
Although data show that whites hold the police in higher regard than do minorities, race has not been found to directly influence how people form opinions about law enforcement. In fact, when researchers controlled for factors such as the level of neighborhood crime, the reported quality of police-citizen encounters, and other demographic variables such as age, income and education, the effects of race disappeared entirely or were substantially reduced. [...]
The public's perceptions about the lawfulness and legitimacy of law enforcement, has a lot to do with the law enforcement's efforts to "
serve and protect" --
or lack thereof.
... to "serve and protect" what? ... to "serve and protect" whom? ... and to what standards of "decency and equality" is this "protection" ever upheld to?
Police Routinely Violate Rights Of Blacks in Ferguson, U.S. Says
by Matt Apuzzo, NTYimes.com -- Mar 3, 2015
Police Departments across the country have a serious problem.
Much of the Public no longer trusts them.
And much of this widening Distrust can be traced back to individual Police Departments failing to follow or enforce, their own "standards" for ethical behavior.
And much will depend on how they react to these New Standards, just published by the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.
Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department
United States Department of Justice -- Civil Rights Division
March 4, 2015
[-- pg 5 --]
City officials have frequently asserted that the harsh and disparate results of Ferguson’s law enforcement system do not indicate problems with police or court practices, but instead reflect a pervasive lack of “personal responsibility” among “certain segments” of the community. Our investigation has found that the practices about which area residents have complained are in fact unconstitutional and unduly harsh. [...]
Community Distrust
Since the August 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown, the lack of trust between the Ferguson Police Department and a significant portion of Ferguson’s residents, especially African Americans, has become undeniable. The causes of this distrust and division, however, have been the subject of debate. Police and other City officials, as well as some Ferguson residents, have insisted to us that the public outcry is attributable to “outside agitators” who do not reflect the opinions of “real Ferguson residents.” That view is at odds with the facts we have gathered during our investigation. Our investigation has shown that distrust of the Ferguson Police Department is long standing and largely attributable to Ferguson’s approach to law enforcement. This approach results in patterns of unnecessarily aggressive and at times unlawful policing;
[-- pg 6 --]
reinforces the harm of discriminatory stereotypes; discourages a culture of accountability; and neglects community engagement. In recent years, FPD has moved away from the modest community policing efforts it previously had implemented, reducing opportunities for positive police-community interactions, and losing the little familiarity it had with some African-American neighborhoods. The confluence of policing to raise revenue and racial bias thus has resulted in practices that not only violate the Constitution and cause direct harm to the individuals whose rights are violated, but also undermine community trust, especially among
many African Americans. As a consequence of these practices, law enforcement is seen as illegitimate, and the partnerships necessary for public safety are, in some areas, entirely absent.
Restoring trust in law enforcement will require recognition of the harms caused by Ferguson’s law enforcement practices, and diligent, committed collaboration with the entire Ferguson community. At the conclusion of this report, we have broadly identified the changes that are necessary for meaningful and sustainable reform. [...]
[-- pg 79 --]
D. Ferguson Law Enforcement Practices Erode Community Trust, Especially Among Ferguson’s African-American Residents, and Make Policing Less Effective, More Difficult, and Less Safe
The unlawful police misconduct and court practices described above have generated great distrust of Ferguson law enforcement, especially among African Americans.[54]
As described below, other FPD practices further contribute to distrust, including FPD’s failure to hold officers accountable for misconduct, failure to implement community policing principles, and the lack of diversity within FPD. Together, these practices severely damaged the relationship between African Americans and the Ferguson Police Department long before Michael Brown’s shooting death in August 2014. This divide has made policing in Ferguson less effective, more difficult, and more likely to discriminate.
1. Ferguson’s Unlawful Police and Court Practices Have Led to Distrust and Resentment Among Many in Ferguson
[...]
Our investigation showed that the disconnect and distrust between much of Ferguson’s
African-American community and FPD is caused largely by years of the unlawful and unfair law enforcement practices by Ferguson’s police department and municipal court described above. In the documents we reviewed, the meetings we observed and participated in, and in the hundreds of conversations Civil Rights Division staff had with residents of Ferguson and the surrounding area, many residents, primarily African-American residents, described being belittled, disbelieved, and treated with little regard for their legal rights by the Ferguson Police Department.
[...]
[-- pg 81 --]
2. FPD’s Exercise of Discretion, Even When Lawful, Often Undermines
Community Trust and Public Safety
[...]
In one instance, for example, a woman called FPD to report a domestic disturbance. By the time the police arrived, the woman’s boyfriend had left. The police looked through the house and saw indications that the boyfriend lived there. When the woman told police that only she and her brother were listed on the home’s occupancy permit, the officer placed the woman under arrest for the permit violation and she was jailed. In another instance, after a woman called police to report a domestic disturbance and was given a summons for an occupancy permit violation, she said, according to the officer’s report, that she “hated the Ferguson Police Department and will never call again, even if she is being killed.”
In another incident, [...]
[-- pg 82 --]
Rather than view these instances as opportunities to convey their compassion for individuals at times of crisis even as they maintain order, FPD appears instead to view these and similar incidents we reviewed as opportunities to issue multiple citations and make arrests. For very little public safety benefit, FPD loses opportunities to build community trust and respect, and instead further alienates potential allies in crime prevention.
3. FPD’s Failure to Respond to Complaints of Officer Misconduct Further Erodes Community Trust
Public trust has been further eroded by FPD’s lack of any meaningful system for holding officers accountable when they violate law or policy. Through its system for taking, investigating, and responding to misconduct complaints, a police department has the opportunity to demonstrate that officer misconduct is unacceptable and unrepresentative of how the law enforcement agency values and treats its constituents. In this way, a police department’s internal affairs process provides an opportunity for the department to restore trust and affirm its legitimacy. Similarly, misconduct investigations allow law enforcement the opportunity to provide community members who have been mistreated a constructive, effective way to voice their complaints. And, of course, effective internal affairs processes can be a critical part of correcting officer behavior, and improving police training and policies.
Ferguson’s internal affairs system fails to respond meaningfully to complaints of officer misconduct. It does not serve as a mechanism to restore community members’ trust in law enforcement, or correct officer behavior. Instead, it serves to contrast FPD’s tolerance for officer misconduct against the Department’s aggressive enforcement of even minor municipal infractions, lend ing credence to a sentiment that we heard often from Ferguson residents: that a “different set of rules” applies to Ferguson’s police than to its African-American residents, and that making a complaint about officer misconduct is futile.
Despite the statement in FPD’s employee misconduct investigation policy that “[t]he integrity of the police department depends on the personal integrity and discipline of each employee,” FPD has done little to investigate external allegations that officers have not followed FPD policy or the law, or, with a few notable exceptions, to hold officers accountable when they have not. Ferguson Police Department makes it difficult to make complaints about officer conduct, and frequently assumes that the officer is telling the truth and the complainant is not, even where objective evidence indicates that the reverse is true.
It is difficult for individuals to make a misconduct complaint against an officer in Ferguson, in part because Ferguson both discourages individuals from making complaints and discourages City and police staff from accepting them. [...]
[-- pg 86 --]
By failing to hold officers accountable, FPD leadership sends a message that FPD officers can behave as they like, regardless of law or policy, and even if caught, that punishment will be light. This message serves to condone officer misconduct and fuel community distrust.
4. FPD’s Lack of Community Engagement Increases the Likelihood of Discriminatory Policing and Damages Public Trust
[...]
Ferguson’s community policing efforts appear always to have been somewhat modest, but have dwindled to almost nothing in recent years. FPD has no community policing or community engagement plan. FPD currently designates a single officer the “Community Resource Officer.” This officer attends community meetings, serves as FPD’s public relations liaison, and is charged with collecting crime data. No other officers play any substantive role in community policing efforts. Officers we spoke with were fairly consistent in their acknowledgment of this, and of the fact that this move away from community policing has been due, at least in part, to an increased focus on code enforcement and revenue generation in recent years. As discussed above, our investigation found that FPD redeployed officers to 12-hour shifts, in part for revenue reasons. [...]
One officer told us that officers could spend more time engaging with community members and undertaking problem-solving projects if FPD officers were not so focused on activities that generate revenue. This officer told us, “everything’s about the courts . . . the court’s enforcement priorities are money.” Another officer told us that officers cannot “get out of the car and play basketball with the kids,” because “we’ve removed all the basketball hoops-- there’s an ordinance against it.” While one officer told us that there was a police substation in
[-- pg 88 --]
Canfield Green when FPD was more committed to community policing, another told us that now there is “nobody in there that anybody knows.”
[...]
5. Ferguson’s Lack of a Diverse Police Force Further Undermines Community Trust
While approximately two-thirds of Ferguson’s residents are African American, only four of Ferguson’s 54 commissioned police officers are African American. Since August 2014, there has been widespread discussion about the impact this comparative lack of racial diversity within FPD has on community trust and police behavior. During this investigation we also heard repeated complaints about FPD’s lack of racial diversity from members of the Ferguson community. Our investigation indicates that greater diversity within Ferguson Police Department has the potential to increase community confidence in the police department, but may only be successful as part of a broader police reform effort.
[...]
[-- DOJ Solutions for repairing this loss of the 'Public Trust' -- pages 90-102 --]
V. CHANGES NECESSARY TO REMEDY FERGUSON’S UNLAWFUL LAW ENFORCEMENT PRACTICES AND REPAIR COMMUNITY TRUST
A. Ferguson Police Practices
1. Implement a Robust System of True Community Policing
2. Focus Stop, Search, Ticketing and Arrest Practices on Community Protection
3. Increase Tracking, Review, and Analysis of FPD Stop, Search, Ticketing and Arrest Practices
4. Change Force Use, Reporting, Review, and Response to Encourage De-Escalation and the Use of the Minimal Force Necessary in a Situation
[De-Escalation of the Use of Force, is another one of those National Institute of Justice's standards.]
5. Implement Policies and Training to Improve Interactions with Vulnerable People
6. Change Response to Students to Avoid Criminalizing Youth While Maintaining a Learning Environment
7. Implement Measures to Reduce Bias and Its Impact on Police Behavior
8. Improve and Increase Training Generally
9. Increase Civilian Involvement in Police Decision Making
10. Improve Officer Supervision
11. Recruiting, Hiring, and Promotion
12. Develop Mechanisms to More Effectively Respond to Allegations of Officer Misconduct
13. Publicly Share Information about the Nature and Impact of Police Activities
B. Ferguson Court Practices
1. Make Municipal Court Processes More Transparent
2. Provide Complete and Accurate Information to a Person Charged with a Municipal Violation
3. Change Court Procedures for Tracking and Resolving Municipal Charges to Simplify Court Processes and Expand Available Payment Options
4. Review Preset Fine Amounts and Implement System for Fine Reduction
5. Develop Effective Ability-to-Pay Assessment System and Improve Data Collection Regarding Imposed Fines
6. Revise Payment Plan Procedures and Provide Alternatives to Fine Payments for
Resolving Municipal Charges
7. Reform Trial Procedures to Ensure Full Compliance with Due Process Requirements
8. Stop Using Arrest Warrants as a Means of Collecting Owed Fines and Fees
9. Allow Warrants to be Recalled Without the Payment of Bond
10. Modify Bond Amounts and Bond and Detention Procedures
11. Consistently Provide “Compliance Letters” Necessary for Driver’s License Reinstatement After a Person Makes an Appearance Following a License Suspension
12. Close Cases that Remain on the Court’s Docket Solely Because of Failure to Appear Charges or Bond Forfeitures
13. Collaborate with Other Municipalities and the State of Missouri to Implement Reforms
If the past is any prolog, this intentionally "sanctioned" damaging of the 'Public Trust', will probably not be fixed any time soon. And definitely not solved, soon enough to make amends, for the terrible harms
already inflicted, by Police Departments across the country, time and time again ... (as camera-armed citizens, now so readily document.)
Trust starts by respecting and protecting the Constitutional rights of the individual -- not by abusing those rights, with no expectation of consequences, whenever such Due Process is shred.
The systematic practice of stepping on the civil rights of citizens -- is the Exact Opposite of what it takes to be trusted. To be respected. To be effective.
As I said, Police Departments across the country have some serious problems.
Ever increasing segments of the Public no longer trust them. And it is a problem of their own 'uncivil' making.
It is long past time, for them to start policing themselves (with the oversight of "citizen review boards," independent Prosecuting Attorneys, Special Investigative Committees, etc.)
It is long past time, for Police Departments to start holding themselves to "some considerably higher Standards" ...
Earning back the 'Public Trust' -- demands it.
Their own mission to "To Serve and Protect" -- demands this of them, too.