Civil Rights Investigations of Local Police

Civil Rights Investigations of Local Police
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 48
Release: 2013
Genre: Police
ISBN: 9781934485224

From Summary: ... the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Acy, which gives DOJ's Civil Rights Division the authority to investigate state and local law enforcement agencies that it believes have unconstitutional policies or practices of conduct. The law is intended to address systemic issues, rather than individual complaints... The alleged misconduct cannot be an isolated incident. And there is no private right of action under the 1994 law; only the Justice Department is given authority to launch investigations and litigation under this statute.

2017 Justice Department Civil Rights Investigation of the Chicago Police Department

2017 Justice Department Civil Rights Investigation of the Chicago Police Department
Author: U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
Publisher:
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2017-01-15
Genre:
ISBN: 9781520385693

This book reproduces the complete report from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division about the practices of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), along with the agreement in principle between the DOJ and the city of Chicago, as released in January 2017. Introduction * 1. Investigation of the Chicago Police Department / United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Illinois / January 13, 2017 * 2. Agreement in Principle Between The United States Department of Justice and the City of Chicago Regarding the Chicago Police Department * 3. Factsheet * 4. Police Reform and Accountability Accomplishments The city of Chicago and the Justice Department have signed an agreement in principle to work together, with community input, to create a federal court-enforceable consent decree addressing the deficiencies found during the investigation. "One of my highest priorities as Attorney General has been to ensure that every American enjoys police protection that is lawful, responsive, and transparent," said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. "Sadly, our thorough investigation into the Chicago Police Department found that far too many residents of this proud city have not received that kind of policing. The resulting deficit in trust and accountability is not just bad for residents - it's also bad for dedicated police officers trying to do their jobs safely and effectively. With this announcement, we are laying the groundwork for the difficult but necessary work of building a stronger, safer, and more united Chicago for all who call it home." "The failures we identified in our findings - that we heard about from residents and officers alike - have deeply eroded community trust," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. "But today is a moment of opportunity, where we begin to move from identifying problems to developing solutions. I know our findings can lead to reform and rebuild community-police trust because we've seen it happen in community after community around the country over the past 20 years." "The findings in our report, coupled with the City of Chicago and Police Department's commitment to work together with us, are an historic turning point and a major step toward sustained change," said U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon of the Northern District of Illinois. "Implementing these findings is a necessary precursor to our long-term success in fighting violent crime in Chicago." On Dec. 7, 2015, Attorney General Lynch announced the investigation into the CPD and the city's Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA). The investigation focused on CPD's use of force, including racial, ethnic and other disparities in use of force, and its systems of accountability. In the course of its pattern or practice investigation, the department interviewed and met with city leaders, current and former police officials, and numerous officers throughout all ranks of CPD. The department also accompanied line officers on over 60 ride-alongs in every police district; heard from over 1,000 community members and more than 90 community organizations; reviewed thousands of pages of police documents, including all relevant policies, procedures, training and materials; and analyzed a randomized, representative sample of force reports and the investigative files for incidents that occurred between January 2011 and April 2016, including over 170 officer-involved shooting investigations and documents related to over 400 additional force incidents.

Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department

Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department
Author: United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 104
Release: 2015-03-06
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9781508746409

Over the course of the investigation, we interviewed City officials, including City Manager John Shaw, Mayor James Knowles, Chief of Police Thomas Jackson, Municipal Judge Ronald Brockmeyer, the Municipal Court Clerk, Ferguson's Finance Director, half of FPD's sworn officers, and others. We spent, collectively, approximately 100 person-days onsite in Ferguson. We participated in ride-alongs with on-duty officers, reviewed over 35,000 pages of police records as well as thousands of emails and other electronic materials provided by the police department. Enlisting the assistance of statistical experts, we analyzed FPD's data on stops, searches, citations, and arrests, as well as data collected by the municipal court. We observed four separate sessions of Ferguson Municipal Court, interviewing dozens of people charged with local offenses, and we reviewed third-party studies regarding municipal court practices in Ferguson and St. Louis County more broadly. As in all of our investigations, we sought to engage the local community, conducting hundreds of in-person and telephone interviews of individuals who reside in Ferguson or who have had interactions with the police department. We contacted ten neighborhood associations and met with each group that responded to us, as well as several other community groups and advocacy organizations. Throughout the investigation, we relied on two police chiefs who accompanied us to Ferguson and who themselves interviewed City and police officials, spoke with community members, and reviewed FPD policies and incident reports. We thank the City officials and the rank-and-file officers who have cooperated with this investigation and provided us with insights into the operation of the police department, including the municipal court. Notwithstanding our findings about Ferguson's approach to law enforcement and the policing culture it creates, we found many Ferguson police officers and other City employees to be dedicated public servants striving each day to perform their duties lawfully and with respect for all members of the Ferguson community. The importance of their often-selfless work cannot be overstated. We are also grateful to the many members of the Ferguson community who have met with us to share their experiences. It became clear during our many conversations with Ferguson residents from throughout the City that many residents, black and white, genuinely embrace Ferguson's diversity and want to reemerge from the events of recent months a truly inclusive, united community. This Report is intended to strengthen those efforts by recognizing the harms caused by Ferguson's law enforcement practices so that those harms can be better understood and overcome. Ferguson's law enforcement practices are shaped by the City's focus on revenue rather than by public safety needs. This emphasis on revenue has compromised the institutional character of Ferguson's police department, contributing to a pattern of unconstitutional policing, and has also shaped its municipal court, leading to procedures that raise due process concerns and inflict unnecessary harm on members of the Ferguson community. Further, Ferguson's police and municipal court practices both reflect and exacerbate existing racial bias, including racial stereotypes. Ferguson's own data establish clear racial disparities that adversely impact African Americans. The evidence shows that discriminatory intent is part of the reason for these disparities. Over time, Ferguson's police and municipal court practices have sown deep mistrust between parts of the community and the police department, undermining law enforcement legitimacy among African Americans in particular.

Blue Mafia

Blue Mafia
Author: Tim Tolka
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2018-04-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781980962656

Blue Mafia shows that small towns have even more severe police misconduct than many major metro areas by recounting the causes and consequences of two federal investigations of local police misconduct. Steubenville was the second city in the U.S. to sign a consent decree with the Justice Department, but nobody really knows why. Little do local residents know, the county narcotics squad was committing crimes similar to the LAPD's Rampart Scandal and the county prosecutor was setting up, robbing, and framing innocent locals and drug dealers alike. Warren had the fourth oldest Justice Department investigation in the country until the Trump administration unilaterally lifted the consent decree in April 2017. However, similar to Baltimore, the Warren police had a pattern or practice of illegal strip searches and cavity searches, excessive force, and a failure to investigate and discipline misconduct by officers. Blue Mafia recounts the struggle of two small communities with troubled police departments, focusing on the consequences of systemic police misconduct for women and people of color. Blue Mafia gives the most detailed account to date of police reform by consent decree, which can serve as a blueprint for citizens interested in investigating police misconduct and promoting police reform.

Federal Intervention in American Police Departments

Federal Intervention in American Police Departments
Author: Stephen Rushin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2017-04-07
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1107105730

This book evaluates how structural reform litigation initiated by federal intervention has transformed police departments and reduced law enforcement misconduct.

Investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department

Investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department
Author: U. S. Department U.S. Department of Justice
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2016-08-10
Genre:
ISBN: 9781537103327

Today, we announce the outcome of the Department of Justice's investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD). After engaging in a thorough investigation, initiated at the request of the City of Baltimore and BPD, the Department of Justice concludes that there is reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Constitution or federal law. BPD engages in a pattern or practice of: (1) making unconstitutional stops, searches, and arrests; (2) using enforcement strategies that produce severe and unjustified disparities in the rates of stops, searches and arrests of African Americans; (3) using excessive force; and (4) retaliating against people engaging in constitutionally-protected expression. This pattern or practice is driven by systemic deficiencies in BPD's policies, training, supervision, and accountability structures that fail to equip officers with the tools they need to police effectively and within the bounds of the federal law.

Civil Rights Enforcement

Civil Rights Enforcement
Author: Lawren Folsom
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2024-02-24
Genre: Study Aids
ISBN:

This book provides an introductory overview of investigative, administrative, and judicial processes involved in the private enforcement of civil rights laws in the United States. Lectures further introduce participants to the network of nonprofit organizations, law firms, administrative agencies, federal agencies, and courts that work together to advance civil rights through enforcement. This book is designed to provide information to participants interested, personally or professionally, in the protection of their own and others' civil rights. Participants will develop civil rights resource guides unique to their jurisdictions: guides to local, state, and federal civil rights protections and enforcement mechanisms. The primary objective of this book is for participants to complete it with a basic but firm grasp of how civil rights enforcement works, coupled with the desire to become involved in local and nationwide civil rights enforcement efforts. Who this book is for: Civil rights professionals. Potential victims of discriminatory business practices. Attorneys with an interest in incorporating civil right enforcement into their business practices through self-monitoring and internal investigations. Individuals and advocates. Social workers, therapists, case workers, and anyone working with populations vulnerable to discrimination. Anyone with an interest in promoting social justice and equality for all.