Trends in the Law Enforcement Industry
Ramses Coly
University of Maryland Global Campus
UCSP 615: Orientation to Graduate Studies
Professor David Stevens
February 6, 2024
Trends in the Law Enforcement Industry
The intricate complexity of modern law enforcement demands constant weaving to adapt to the evolving threads of societal challenges. A recurring question among experts and public officials is whether society has any influence over criminal activity while maintaining liberty (Shults, 2022). Three distinct trends stand out in this dynamic: the ascent of precision policing, the growing awareness of mental health in the general population, and the creations of Police Accountability Boards in jurisdictions like Maryland. This paper delves into these interlacing trends starting with precision policing which seeks to use data to analyze crimes in a specific area.
Discussion of Three Trends
Precision Policing
In the wake of growing calls for police reform, law enforcement agencies across the United States are searching for innovative strategies to combat crime while fostering trust and accountability within communities. Precision policing, an emerging approach that leverages data analysis and targeted interventions, has emerged as a potential contender in this quest. Proponents argue that precision policing offers a data-driven, evidence-based alternative to traditional, often criticized methods such as stop-and-frisk.
Precision policing evolved from CompStat, championed by former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton in 1994 (Bratton & Murad, 2018). By focusing resources on hotspots of criminal activity and individuals identified as high-risk offenders, precision policing aims to reduce overall crime rates while minimizing unnecessary interactions with law-abiding citizens. In recent years, law enforcement members have tried to minimize unprovoked contacts with the citizenry at large. As mental health becomes prevalent today, the law enforcement approach in dealing with citizens has also evolved.
Mental Health in the General Population
No longer solely tasked with crime prevention and apprehension, police officers are increasingly called upon to handle mental health crises. As awareness of mental health issues in the general population rises, the need for law enforcement agencies to adapt and equip their officers with skills and resources to handle these delicate situations becomes more pressing. The current reality, however, paints a stark picture. Some police agencies often lack adequate training and support to de-escalate incidents involving individuals with mental health issues, leading to potentially tragic consequences. Such was the case with Raul de la Cruz in the Bronx, New York, when he was shot and killed by New York Police officers (Meko & Kriegstein, 2023).
A study conducted in 1967 by Egon Bittner found that police officers refrained at the time from committing a person into a mental health facility. Fifteen years later, Public Health Researcher Linda Teplin found there was no significant change in the approach (Teplin, 2000). Officers who encounter a mentally unstable subject generally have three choices (if the encounter is the result of a disturbance): transport that person to a mental health facility, arrest the person (if they committed a crime), or resolve the matter by taking no legal action. In more and more jurisdictions, agencies have introduced pilot initiatives where Crisis Intervention Teams accompany police officers to low-risk calls to deal with the mentally ill. Washington and Montgomery Counties, Maryland, are model examples. But as that milestone established itself in recent years, law enforcement agencies took a setback in 2020 with the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by on-duty officers. Once again, agencies across the country had to adjust their operations and way of conducting business and try to satisfy a constant public demand: accountability.
Police Accountability Boards in Maryland
In the wake of Michael Brown's fatal shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, the conversation around police body cameras erupted. This was not an isolated incident; a string of
high-profile police-involved killings throughout the mid-2010s kept the issue simmering (Koh, 2021). As police departments nationwide continue to experiment with these devices, the debate over their role in shaping the future of law enforcement continues as does an emerging trend: Police Accountability Boards.
These boards, empowered to investigate allegations of police misconduct and recommend disciplinary action, represent a significant shift in the traditional power dynamics between police agencies and the communities they serve. Maryland, a state at the forefront of police reform efforts, has recently implemented legislation mandating the creation of such boards in each of its 23 counties and Baltimore City (Ford, 2023).
Policing the Police: Maryland’s Answer to Recent Issues
Origins of Police Accountability Boards in Maryland
There are approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States, but there’s not enough information about how they collect data about their activities in their respective jurisdictions (House, Bains & Piquero, 2023), which prompted President Joe Biden to sign an executive order in May 2022 on Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety. The order was mainly directed at federal law enforcement agencies but with communities throughout the country in mind.
A year before, in 2021, the Maryland Legislature passed the Police Accountability Act of 2021 to address any police misconduct issues in the state. This law required the creation of a three-tiered system as a check and balance system for law enforcement organizations in all 23 counties and Baltimore City, each of which tasked with a different goal. The Police Accountability Act of 2021 consists of the following: a Police Accountability Board, an Administrative Charging Committee, and a Trial Board. The better-known oversight committees are the Accountability Boards, as they are usually the first step any law enforcement officer in hot waters would encounter. The Administrative Charging Committee investigates misconduct allegations and prepares charges for the Trial Board, which acts like a mini court, adjudicating cases and recommending discipline for officers.
Measured Success Mixed with Challenges
The boards’ three-tiered system decentralizes accountability, moving it closer to communities, while ensuring due process for officers. While still young, these boards represent a significant step towards a more equitable and accountable police system in Maryland. Anne Arundel County was among the first areas to implement a Police Accountability Board right after the law passed in the legislature in Annapolis (Ford, 2023).
Police Accountability Boards have seen early successes. Anne Arundel's, for example, condemned an officer's racial profiling, sending a strong message of zero tolerance (Parker, 2023). The author of this article himself, along with another police officer at Hagerstown Community College, both received letters of reprimand after an arrest went wrong in April 2023. These cases, though nascent, highlight the boards' potential to influence policy and hold officers accountable.
However, police unions have expressed concerns about due process and potential politicization of the boards. The Baltimore County PAB faced legal challenges, temporarily stalling their progress (Baltimore, 2023); and while some officers see the boards as an opportunity to rebuild trust, others remain skeptical of their effectiveness (Dungca & Alberson, 2021).
Conclusion
The story of Maryland's accountability boards is still unfolding. Publicly scrutinized cases will test the system's mettle. Yet, despite the challenges, the boards' early interventions and community engagement offer a glimmer of hope for a more accountable and equitable police landscape in Maryland. Yet, amidst the inevitable growing pains, there is hope that illuminates the boards' potential to usher in a new era of police accountability in Maryland. Their early interventions in some incidents, such as the Anne Arundel County profiling case demonstrate their ability to influence policy changes and send strong messages of zero tolerance for discriminatory practices. Furthermore, the boards' commitment to community engagement, through public meetings and outreach initiatives, fosters a sense of inclusion and collaboration that was previously absent in many police oversight mechanisms.
References
Baltimore, S. (2023, July 21). Action alert: oppose Scott Richman for the Baltimore County PAB. Jews United for Justice.
https://jufj.org/oppose-richman/
Bratton, B. & Murad, J. (2018, October 1). Precision policing: a strategy for the challenges of 21st century law enforcement. Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. https://manhattan.institute/article/precision-policing-a-strategy-for-the-challenges-of-21st-century-law-enforcement
Dungca, N. & Abelson, J. (2021, April 27). When communities try to hold police accountable, law enforcement fights back. The Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2021/civilian-oversight-police-accountability/
Ford, W. J. (2023, May 1). Rollout has been uneven for accountability boards required by 2021 police reform effort. Maryland Matters.
https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/05/01/rollout-has-been-uneven-for-accountability-boards-required-by-2021-police-reform-effort/
Koh, T. (2021). Body cameras for police officers on patrol: overview. Salem Press Encyclopedia. https://eds-p-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=30629c78-f7b9-4a75-b632-18c9cf6cf3e3%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=126518345&db=ers
Meko, H., & Kriegstein, B. (2023, March 30). He was mentally ill and armed. The police shot him within 28 seconds. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/30/nyregion/nypd-shooting-mental-health.html
Shults, C. J. F., EdD. (2022, February 21). How police can use precision policing to target chronic offenders. Police1. https://www.police1.com/investigations/articles/precision-policing-the-next-law-enforcement-era-q4cwlki2hY9DyJTY/
Teplin, L. (2000, July). Keeping the peace: Police discretion and mentally ill persons. National Institute of Justice Journal.
https://nij.ojp.gov/library/publications/keeping-peace-police-discretion-and-mentally-ill-persons
