Major Reforms Ahead for Seattle Police?
On March 29th, 2012, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and Police Chief John Diaz announced sweeping reforms in response to a highly critical federal Department of Justice report following a series of high-profile incidents involving people of color:
As a result, 20 major reforms were proposed by the city and SPD brass:
McGinn, Diaz and Mike Sanford, the department's assistant chief of
operations, state the proposed reforms fall under 5 main categories: protecting
constitutional rights; training for Seattle's values; earning public trust;
using data-driven practices; and partnering with the public.
SPD has been in the hot seat many times since the creation of the
city. Some old scandals make some of the more recent ones seem pale in
comparison. SPD survived those and was able to shake things up and improve its
image. Very few people will deny that Police-Community Relations have been
deteriorating in recent months, including the shooting death of a Native
American wood carver named John T. Williams, and an incident involving a former
gang unit officer and Latino youth:
So, what do you think of these new reforms? Will line staff buy into
it? Does SPD racially profile people? Is there a culture of police brutality
and excessive force at SPD or were these incidents just the case of a few bad
apples spoiling the whole bunch? Are these proposed reforms just a ploy to try
and head off DOJ monitoring of the department? Was this all racially and
politically motivated? Will anything change at SPD?
I'm curious about SPD's budget situation. I know from experience that when agency budgets get cut, training is one of the first things to take the hit. I've been following the news stories. I'm curious to see how it turns out. I printed out the DOJ report and SPD's response this evening and I've already had several coworkers say they want to read them when I'm done. We're looking at SPD's situation as a learning experience for all of us. Personally, I think that SPD has a great opportunity set an example of how to restore community relations after things go badly.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article on SPD's "Softer Side", the recent efforts to clean up Seattle's Bell Town area, and find long term solutions:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.seattleweekly.com/2012-03-28/news/spd-s-softer-side/
Cops often feel they are under attack, it can feed into the "US vs. Them Syndrome". When under attack in the media and court, many officers state they "will not be as pro-active". They reason, why risk an unruly encounter, use force, then feel like they are put on trial themselves? Veterans near retirement don't want to risk losing their pension. Newer officers on probation don't want a bad mark on their record that could be used for dismissal. While there is no doubt some non-LE groups have their own agendas, and some would even prefer Anarchy, police officers should understand that such scrutiny if done right can enhance credibility and trust in the public eye. SPD has continued meetings with the US-DOJ; meanwhile, the King County Sheriff's Office has not been immune from its own criticism:
ReplyDeletehttp://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019127872_sheriffreport12m.html