Updates to Police Policies & More
This week, we're highlighting three presentations on Tuesday at 1:00pm on issues related to the Lexington Police Department. The presentations will be made in the Planning & Public Safety Committee by Commander Brad Ingram of the Lexington Police Department, Director of One Lexington Laura Hatfield, and Law Commissioner Susan Speckert.
Why is this important?
The Lexington Police Department - and America’s policing system more generally - has come under increased scrutiny in the wake of the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and many others.
In response to public calls for more accountability over the Police, Lexington pushed forward several policy changes, including the creation of a Police Discipline After Action Review Commission, and a Commission on Racial Justice & Equality.
Leaders in the African American and social justice communities in Lexington insist that these steps don’t sufficiently address the issues of police accountability around issues of race.
The three presentations in this week’s Planning & Public Safety Committee highlight three ways that policing in Lexington has changed in the past year:
Increased civilian oversight
Changes to internal Police policies
Use of social service agencies to reduce violent crime
Despite this, disparities in policing in Lexington remain for members of the Black community.
Police Discipline After Action Review Commission
What is the Police Discipline After Action Review Commission (AARC)?
The Mayor called for creating the AARC in June 2020 as an immediate step towards addressing public oversight over the Police Department. The city is now in a planning process stage.
The AARC will review "closed police investigations regarding certain critical incident cases and disciplinary actions to determine the investigations' adequacy and recommend changes in policy, training, and procedures to Mayor and Chief."
The AARC will not do the following:
Re-investigate closed cases
Recommend discipline
Change discipline
Change administrative or judicial findings
What is the status of the AARC?
The city has appropriated $50,000.00 to issue an RFP to engage an expert/consultant to create a commission framework, including:
Advising on the appropriate makeup of the AARC
Work with stakeholders to determine the critical incidents and disciplinary matters that fall under the Commission's jurisdiction.
Determine the materials the AARC will review
Work with stakeholders to design protocols, policies, and procedures for the AARC to perform its duties.
Determine how the AARC will communicate its recommendations and findings
Will the AARC be effective at providing oversight of LPD?
Though closely related to a Citizens Review Board, based on current descriptions of Lexington's proposed AARC, it will only handle a few aspects of what a Citizens Review Board would. They should not be confused.
Washington DC created one of the first iterations of a Citizens Review Board (CRB) in 1948, and, as the Civil Rights Movement evolved, cities across the country established CRBs. CRBs created in this period were often hampered by little funding and a lack of expertise on the boards. They were also actively undercut by police unions, politicians, and policymakers.
While this "Review-focused Agency" model of oversight has many positives - including increased trust in the process from communities - they are often undermined by three issues:
Limited authority and few organizational resources
Volunteer boards have less expertise in police issues and limited time to perform their work
Less independent than other forms of oversight
While not a catch-all solution, evidence shows that bringing more civilian oversight to police departments leads to better outcomes for communities and the police.
The AARC is even more limited than a Citizens Review Board, indicating that many of the above-mentioned issues could be exacerbated.
Updates to the LPD Off Duty Employment Policies
The Lexington Police Department approved a new policy for officers employed in a secondary job in July 2020.
Officers are permitted to have secondary employment, which "allows officers to supplement their income and develop relationships with community partners."
The Lexington Police Department has the authority to review any off-duty employment of Police Officers to prevent any employees "neglect[ing] their official duties or causing "actions might result in failure of public trust."
Off-duty employment can't create a conflict with the officer's work on the force, and they must follow all rules and regulations of the LPD while at any secondary employment.
Specific employment locations are forbidden to be secondary workplaces for officers, including bars/alcohol establishments, bill collectors, private investigation, and guarding during labor disputes.
What's different?
Any time the job has to do with security or enforcement, the officers must be in uniform and wear body cameras - previously, they didn't have to be in uniform or wear cameras.
Any positions must be approved individually by the Public Integrity Unit and the Chief of Police.
The new policy also addresses policies held by the secondary employer, and the number of officers allowed to work there.
Safety Net Program
What is the Safety Net Program?
The City of Lexington launched the Safety Net Program in fall 2019 as an intervention tool for potential victims or perpetrators of gun violence. Since then, 23 referrals have been made to the Safety Net Program.
Lexington targets the Safety Net Program (SNP) to potential or actual victims of gun-related violent crime. SNP finds these individuals through both proactive and reactive means.
Reactive connections occur after investigations or arrests connected to gun-related crimes.
Proactive connections occur if neighbors observe disputes in physical space or on social media or if community members share a concern to law enforcement.
How does it work?
The Safety Net Program (SNP) supports individuals by connecting them to caseworkers (called "Street Outreach Workers" or SOWs by the SNP). These SOWs then meet with the individuals to determine if they need additional resources (mental health services, housing, food, job, clothing, funding, etc.) after the incident.
If they do, the SOW will connect them to the City of Lexington's One Lexington program and/or various community partner organizations (primarily churches and other nonprofits).
SOWs continue to check in with referrals on an ongoing basis.