|
|
Lehigh Valley, PA – The Lehigh Valley Justice Institute today released a report on public access to Use of Force incidents by police departments. The Institute is providing the report to local police departments and governments in the hope that it will lead to the creation of on-line disclosure of Use of Force incidents locally.
“We have produced this report to spur greater transparency regarding use of force incidents locally. We have detailed several jurisdictions, including the entire State of New Jersey which provides public access to this vital data. It is through such efforts that we can have truly informed, and data driven, discussions of policing practices.” Executive Director Joseph Welsh explained.
The LVJI report examines three website which publicly disclose Use of Force incidents: the City of Norfolk, Virginia; the State of New Jersey; and New York City. The sites vary in the type of data and the level of detail presented. The New Jersey website identifies individual officers involved in use of force incidents, whereas the other two sites do not.
LVJI hopes that by providing information on the three websites they will be able to motivate action locally. Welsh sees this report as an example of the central mission of the Institute: “When we formed the Institute late last year we pledged to bring information regarding the best practices nationwide to inform our work here in the Lehigh Valley. Our staff produced this report as part of our role as a trusted community partner for local governments.”
The report notes that a national registry is in existence, managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. While publicly available, participation in the registry is voluntary, and only 27 percent of law enforcement agencies across the country provide such information. Notably, no department in the Lehigh Valley appears on the FBI list of participating agencies with regard to comprehensive Use of Force data. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would make reporting mandatory and require public disclosure of the information. The bill has passed the U.S. House of Representatives, but is mired in the Senate due to the filibuster rule.
Last year, Pennsylvania started a database to track misconduct by police officers, but the information is generally not available to the public, and tracks disciplinary actions, but not Use of Force generally. The slow action in Harrisburg and Washington underscores LVJI’s view that action needs to be taken locally.
LVJI is committed to crafting local solutions to criminal justice issues. “We simply cannot wait for reform to wind its way through the intricate legislative corridors in Washington and Harrisburg. We have the talent right here in the Lehigh Valley to craft our own solutions to our problems. All we need is the data and the will to do so.” Welsh continued.
The Institute is available to assist local police departments in compiling and publishing data on Use of Force incidents. Ideally, LVJI would like to see a regional database for use by all Departments in Lehigh and Northampton counties. “The best solution would be a single, publicly available database covering the entire Lehigh Valley.” explained Welsh.
The Lehigh Valley Justice Institute was formed last year to address criminal justice issues specifically in the Lehigh Valley, from an academic perspective. The Institute is engaged in a multi-year deep study of the local criminal justice systems, as well as immediate work through various issue committees, such as policing, bail re-entry programs and probation/parole.
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab Information provided to TVL by:
Cecelia Khorrami
Administrative Assistant
Lehigh Valley Justice Institute
www.LVJI.org
