Tag: Police Management

An excellent discussion on Policing QPP 56: Peter Moskos and Alex Vitale, moderated by Michael Fortner – Peter Moskos

Excellent discussion on Policing

This is truly a must listen for all criminal justice students interested in policing. 

QPP 56: Peter Moskos and Alex Vitale, moderated by Michael Fortner – Peter Moskos
— Read on qualitypolicing.com/qpp-alex-vitale-and-michael-fortner/

Police Killings: Road Map of Research Priorities for Change | RAND

Research Questions

What types of research on killings committed by police officers might help reduce these killings?
What types of data on killings committed by police officers might help reduce these killings?
In this report, RAND Corporation researchers summarize what is currently known about killings committed by police officers in the United States and identify existing evidence about various ways to prevent these killings. A relatively large body of research on these topics exists, but these studies often suffer from methodological shortcomings, largely stemming from the dearth of available data. Recognizing the need for more-rigorous work to guide efforts to reform police — and, more specifically, to reduce police killings — the authors present work focused on the development of a research agenda, or a road map, to reduce police killings. The report, based on an extensive literature review as well as interviews with policing experts, contains a series of recommendations for areas in which research efforts may be most effective in helping inform policymaking and decisionmaking aimed at reducing police killings.

The authors identified six focus areas — foundational issues (such as racial inequities, police culture, and police unions), data and reporting, training, policies, technology, and consequences for officers. Reviewing the priority research topics in each focus area, similar themes emerged, especially around the need for more-extensive and more-systematic data collection and around the use of agency policies to better govern a range of operations related to police violence, such as data collection and reporting and technology.

In this report, the authors use the terms police killings, police violence, and police shootings to describe these types of police behaviors, whether wrongful or not. The authors identify specific instances of these behaviors as misconduct, illegality, wrongful, or excessive when those descriptions apply.
Key Findings

The authors identified research priorities that include the following:

Incorporate a racial lens into studies on reducing police violence and police killings.
Conduct research on aspects of law enforcement that teach and reinforce traditional police culture and norms and on how reform efforts might overcome resistance stemming from culture and norms.
Conduct research on the role of unions in preventing accountability to agency policies and in shaping the outcomes of cases involving police killings.
Explore additional data sources and data that could provide a more reliable representation of a police violence incident, including nonfatal incidents; situational factors surrounding incidents; and the use of technology prior to, during, and after an incident.
Improve data collection on officer consequences after police killings.
Establish meaningful metrics for use across agencies by identifying standard data elements that agencies should collect, and prioritize data accuracy.
Move away from self-reported data on body-worn camera (BWC) use by conducting BWC footage reviews and incorporating alternative data sources for incident reviews.
Add to the overall training evaluation literature to understand the current state of training in the United States and develop a consensus on what training should be in place in all agencies.
Identify the mechanisms by which specific policies reduce police violence, and identify what combination of policies is most effective at reducing police violence.
Undertake research on the overall effects of using other technologies on lethal force.
Study the role of prosecutors in shaping the outcomes of cases involving police killings.
— Read on www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1525-1.html

Assessment Colorado Springs Police Department – Use of Force

Using both qualitative and quantitative methods that explore official police data, community and officer surveys and focus groups, and comparisons to peer agencies, we address the following research questions:

 What factors contribute to the use (and severity) of force by CSPD officers?

 How does CSPD use of force policy and training compare to similarly situated (i.e., peer) cities?

 Does the rate and severity of force align with racial/ethnic groups’ representation at risk for having

force used against them by police?

 What are possible explanations for any disparities found in police use and severity of force?

 What factors contribute to the likelihood of officer and citizen injuries?

 How do community members perceive use of force and police-community relations?

 How do CSPD officers perceive police use of force and police-community relations?

 What improvements should be made to CSPD’s use of force policies, training, and data collection

and analysis to meet current best practices?

coloradosprings.gov/sites/default/files/inline-images/cspd_use_of_force_final_transparency_matters_report_april_2022.pdf

REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY IN THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS A VISION FOR CHANGE

The investigation uncovered the following key problems in the current state of public safety in St. Louis:

• Racial disparities in the harms inflicted by policing;

• Gaps and inconsistencies in SLMPD policies (especially related to use of force, pedestrian and vehicle stops, and interactions with people experiencing mental health emergencies);

• A need for non-police alternative responders for certain call types;

• Inefficiencies in the allocation of SLMPD patrol staff and resources, which create inequities in service levels;

• A need for accessible, affordable out-of-school time programming for St. Louis youth;

• Insufficient community engagement on the part of the City and SLMPD; and.

• A lack of robust accountability systems for SLMPD.

policingequity.org/images/pdfs-doc/Reimagining_Public_Safety_in_St._Louis_Final_Report.pdf

Investigation into the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department

This is an investigation into discrimination by the Minneapolis Human Rights Department.

Findings of Discrimination

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights finds there is probable cause that the City and MPD engage in a pattern or practice of race discrimination in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

Specifically, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights finds that MPD engages in a pattern or practice of discriminatory, race-based policing as evidenced by:

• Racial disparities in how MPD officers use force, stop, search, arrest, and cite people of color, particularly Black individuals, compared to white individuals in similar circumstances.

• MPD officers’ use of covert social media to surveil Black individuals and Black organizations, unrelated to criminal activity.

• MPD officers’ consistent use of racist, misogynistic, and disrespectful language. The pattern or practice of discriminatory, race-based policing is caused primarily by an

organizational culture where:

• MPD officers, supervisors, and field training officers receive deficient training, which emphasizes a paramilitary approach to policing that results in officers unnecessarily escalating encounters or using inappropriate levels of force.

• Accountability systems are insufficient and ineffective at holding officers accountable for misconduct.

• Former and current City and MPD leaders have not collectively acted with the urgency, coordination, and intentionality necessary to address racial disparities in policing to improve public safety and increase community trust.

Without fundamental organizational culture changes, reforming MPD’s policies, procedures, and trainings will be meaningless.

mn.gov/mdhr/assets/Investigation into the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department_tcm1061-526417.pdf