Who said it:
Lafayette’s police chief should require his police force to be retrained to use its recording equipment. The training should cover fundamentals like “Don’t turn off your in-car videocamera during a chase” and “Record interviews with suspects in murder investigations.”
The final point in a pointed dressing down of the Lafayette Police Department in the Times Call today.
Does this kind of public admonition really impact police training and behavior? Are sarcastic and skeptical comments from the papers and blogs like this incorporated into any sort of self-evaluation? Or is there really such an us-against-them mentality in police departments in general that any criticism is waved off, when it is even recognized in the first place?
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10 comments:
Dan,
You should ask the question as to whether comments made on blogs ever reach city officials or police chiefs. If not, it is simply bantering back and forth.
Does anyone down at city hall read the Longmont paper?
I forwarded the editorial to city hall.
Human nature is to ignore this criticism. PDs are no different.
Criticism is typically accepted if it comes from a respected source, like close friends or relatives whom you respect.
Other sources of criticism are discounted as they come from sources who don't really know or understand you.
Organizations, like PDs, are no different. No doubt, they'd only accept criticism from other law enforcement officials, not from the general public. Citizen review committees are a feel good attempt to review PDs, but their recommendations are rarely implemented.
Wise folks know this:
1. Suicide by cop.
2. Murder by cop - Target your victim - harass him. Call the police with a bogus story. They investigate, and the person finally has had enough. He vents to the police - they taser or shoot. Your victim has a heart problem. End of story - Paper covers another taser death.
D-B,
If there is any criticism to be made, the most influential group would be www.cirsa.org.
Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency?
So, nevermind what's right/wrong, let's just do what the risk management people tell us to do?
I would hope there are others who have influence over the PD.
d-b,
The PD Chief reports to the City Administrator. He reports to the City Council. Public inputs can directly go to all and Council inputs get transmitted via the City Admin.
A key outside influence is the liability risk sharing company. They are the ones who pay most of the freight when municipalities face litigation. What insurance company likes to deal with litigation and settlements?
The "dressing down" (as Dan referred to it) in the Times-Call refers to highly publicized cases.
No one should have to "complain" to see some proactive response within the city admin relative to these cases.
Here's hoping Klaphake has the backbone to stand up to the Chief and force more accountability.
The details that continue to come aut make for a low-level scandal (not counting the fact someone actually died). The whole camera not working thing stinks. And to taser a person running away; couldn't a billy club to the legs have taken him down? Boys and their toys...
I have submitted to the council during a prior goals session the idea of creating a Policy Policy Advisory committee. This committee would be comprised of members from the Police Force, Council, citizens, and the city administrator. Other cities have this, so it is not a new concept. The purpose would be to look at the policies from different perspectives and see if they need to be improved or changed. Not all police forces operate the same way (Louisville does not use Tasers, for example). This would be a forum to discuss and revise policies in a positive and objective way, not as a response to a particular event. I have been frustrated in the past with not being able to respond to citizen issues on police policies because currently we only hear about it if there is a lawsuit, at which point council's hands are tied by the insurance company.
With the publicity created by Lafayette PD related events, such a committee is needed.
The effectiveness of these committees is questionable. But the lack of such a committee gives the appearance the PD is operating unchecked. Although this is not the case, outward appearances help create an image. Right now, the LPD image is not good.
An Advisory Committee, if done correctly, could go a long way to improve the image in the community.
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