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SAMPLE EXECUTIVE BRIEFING

Courtelaney Pass

Executive Briefing

Courtelaney Pass

Prepared by: Chief of Police

Attn: Governor

Introduction

Courtelaney Pass is experiencing issues that are not new or unique to our community. These issues are felt across the country and often a result of built up tensions and past leadership mistakes. As the Chief of police, I take full responsibility to address these issues. If Courtelaney Pass does not make changes soon, there is a realistic expectation that the US DOJ will attempt to enter into a Consent Decree, removing control from the Courtelaney Pass Police Department and giving it to the US DOJ. I request your support in taking action to change the climate of Courtelaney Pass and make this community great again.

What Happened

Approximately four years ago, a nine year old African-American female went missing. After receiving little to no support from the Courtelaney Pass Police Department (CPPD), the family initiated a search team and discovered the little girl’s body in the woods a short time later. The community suspected the little girl’s death was not adequately investigated due to the color of the girl’s skin. A short time later it was determined that multiple minorities had disappeared in similar circumstances over the previous years and one of the subjects of interest was a former CPPD officer.

Growing reports of gang, drug activity, and an increase in violent crimes led to a heavy handed approach of police. These tactics were conducted mainly in the minority neighborhoods and outskirts of town where a large Hispanic community resides. Police utilized stop and frisk detentions more frequently and targeted predominantly minority males, in the age range of sixteen to thirty. A short time later, officers attempted to apprehend a known drug dealer in the community and an officer involved shooting occurred. The suspected drug dealer was killed and the racial tensions erupted, despite internal investigations revealing the shooting was justified by the officer.

Years of racial tensions between the CPPD and the community have resulted in and us verse them mentality. Citizens are less likely to report incidents due to a feeling of inadequacy and ineptitude by the CPPD. Feelings of racial divide and past indiscretions from CPPD administrations have left the community feeling alone and not supported. The community feels a divide and unless things change, these feelings of resentment will continue to grow. Courtelaney Pass is at a major breaking point.

What I Have Done as Interim Chief of Police

As current interim Chief of Police, I have appointed a special Captain of Investigations. Captain Alpha will oversee current and future investigations. I have recommended Captain Alpha rotate out multiple officers from the investigators office and back on to patrol. The positions they held in his office were replaced with subjects selected after completing a series of oral interview boards and examinations. CPPD feels this change will help restore faith in our detective’s office. All testing was conducted based upon the CPPD standards and operating procedures (SOP) set by our state accreditation board.

The change in leadership with the appointment of a new Chief and Captain of Investigation is the very beginnings of transparency and reestablishing police legitimacy within our communities. These leadership changes will help mend ties within the community (Mentel, 2012). However, these changes will only work if the CPPD embraces this change from the ground up; otherwise we are merely reinforcing a broken system (Contract Journal, 2002).

I am continually working on methods to aid in crime reduction within Courtelaney Pass. I am still a firm believer in the Broken Windows theory of proactive policing. With our proactive policing tactics in these high crime areas, I believe the CPPD can make a huge impact in reducing the crime statistics in the area. I agree that the use of the Broken Window theory was an excuse for officers to have an increased number of tier two stops where terry frisks were improperly used (Kelling, 2015). I have issued body worn cameras (BWC) to all members of the CPPD department, to include command staff, and hope this will alleviate the use of improper stop and frisk detentions.

I have begun the creation of a citizen oversight board for the CPPD (US DOJ: Community Oriented Policing Services, 2018). CPPD is consulting with neighboring agencies to see recommendations for the application process, makeup of the CPPD board, and additions to the SOP. Once the citizen oversight board is created, I will have them periodically review random BWC footage with department supervisors. They will also be part of the review committee on any officer complaints, use of force, and any high profile incidents.

What I Still Need to Do as Chief of Police

As Chief of police, I need to continue to improve relationships between the law enforcement officers and our community. I am working to finalize a citizen oversight board for the CPPD. I am working with Crime Stoppers USA and neighboring agencies to create a local crime stoppers tip line (Crime Stoppers, 2020). This tip line would enable Courtelaney Pass community members to provide anonymous tips. These tip lines would ensure community members feel safe in providing crime information, while increasing the information being submitted to the investigations division. I feel the creation of these anonymous tips lines that are used in communities throughout the US, will help our migrant Hispanic community that is typically less likely to directly call or file reports with the police department (Crime Stoppers, 2020).

I have begun exploring options to increase community oriented policing and increase the legitimacy of the CPPD. Communities like Rockford, IL are exploring the use of police officer housing in high crime areas (Austen, 2018). These courtesy officers would live in housing paid for the by the city, in areas determined to be high crime, expected to perform beat policing, and create community oriented events. By installing officers permanently and making them available to those citizens 24 hours a day, it provides the community a sense that officers genuinely care about what is occurring in their backyards. Rockford PD has experienced great success with this nontraditional approach to community policing (Austen, 2018).

All CPPD officers, to include command staff, have been issued body worn cameras (BWC). I am working to introduce vehicle cameras, synchronization with vehicle emergency equipment, and enabling GPS software to make law enforcement officers accountable. BWC are not always embraced by the rank and file due to their big brother (Swanson, Territo, & Taylor, 2017). However, modern policing has changed and transparency is more important than ever. As all officers working for the CPPD are wearing the same equipment and would be tracked by the same technology, I hope the rank and file will be quick to accept these changes.

I am working to change traffic enforcement within our agency. Currently Courtelaney Pass has eight speed detection cameras within the city. These cameras are controversial and have led many to believe CPPD is targeting individuals through an illegal speed trap. The US Supreme Court ruled speed detection cameras as constitutional (Hughes v. City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 2016). However, the current camera system utilizes a third party company to issue administrative citations. The CPPD is currently working on a grant to both evaluate the placement of these cameras and to transition the cameras from private to public control. Similarly to areas like Savannah, GA, this would allow for a certified law enforcement officer to review the images and then utilize officer discretion in issuing uniform traffic citations (Gazaway, 2020). Utilizing a certified officer would enable officer discretion in issuing the citations and allow the accused to contest the citation in court (Lichtenberg, 2003).

CPPD has also looked into utilizing Special Purpose Local Sales Tax (SPLOST) programs to explore the placement of the speed detection cameras, the creation of a position to review the images, and the redistribution of revenue (GA Department of Education, 2020). Cities typically benefit from the revenue generated by the traffic enforcement cameras (Gazaway, 2020). I am currently working with city council and the state to look into redistributing those funds to our local schools to help create afterschool programs, mentoring opportunities, and increasing higher education partnerships. We are also in discussions with the school board and city attorney to create a number of intern positions at the CPPD and scholarship opportunity.

I am working with our local school system to begin new programs and partnerships. While I look forward to this cooperation with the school system, I will not be able to improve the youth outlook on education or CPPD without a partnership with the community (Lilly, Cullen, & Ball, 2019). I need the next generation to know that education is important to their future and that without graduating high school, they will have extra hurdles to conquer (Do Something, 2020). While youth tends to see law enforcement as adversarial, by creating partnerships with the adults in Courtelaney Pass and increasing community outreach, my hope is that the younger generation is better able to visualize themselves within their community (Lilly, Cullen, & Ball, 2019).

While I have begun to implement shift and roll call trainings, I have consulted with the Georgia Peace Officers Standard and Training Council (POST) to help CPPD in the creation of yearly training. GA POST requires twenty hours of training in community policing, de-escalation tactics, implicit bias, and use of force (GA POST, 2020). In utilizing their standards, CPPD can begin to address implicit bias within the agency, as well as ensure all officers are properly trained according to other agency and states requirements. I have also invited the US Department of Justice to conduct a voluntary audit of our uniform crime reports and community interactions (Beckham, 2015). I am currently awaiting a response.

Conclusions and Policy Implications

As the Chief of police, I take full responsibility to address and correct these issues. If Courtelaney Pass does not address these issues soon, there is a realistic expectation of the US DOJ entering into a Consent Decree. Courtelaney Pass is experiencing issues felt across the country due to built up tensions and past leadership mistakes. Changes need to be made to Courtelaney Pass to regain the confidence of this community. I request your support in my proposed changes for Courtelaney Pass to make this community great again.

References.

Austen, B. (2018, June 21). Peace Officers. Retrieved from https://newrepublic.com/article/148854/peace-officers

Beckham, B. (2015). Excessive Force. Silver Springs: Beckham Publications Group, In.

Contract Journal. (July 24, 2002). A QUESTION OF PEOPLE. Contract Journal. Retrieved from https://advance-lexis-com.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:46NM-XPC0-007C-Y1F4-00000-00&context=1516831.

Crime Stoppers. (2020, April 1). Crime Stoppers. Retrieved from Crime Stoppers USA: https://www.crimestoppersusa.org/history/

Do Something. (2020, April 4). 11 Facts About High School Dropout Rates. Retrieved from DoSomething.org: https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-high-school-dropout-rates

Fine, A., Kan, E., & Cauffman, E. (2019). Adolescents' Confidence in Institutions: Do America's Youth Differentiate Between Legal and Social Institutions? American Psychological Association, 1-10.

GA Department of Education. (n.d.). SPLOST. Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://www.gadoe.org/Finance-and-Business-Operations/Facilities-Services/Pages/Splost.aspx

GA POST. (n.d.). Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://www.gapost.org/

Gazaway, Wright (2020, February 20). Red light cameras: Are they working? Retrieved from https://www.wtoc.com/2020/02/20/red-light-cameras-are-they-working/

Hughes v. City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 840 F.3d 987 (United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit November 2, 2016).

Kelling, George. (August 11, 2015). Don't blame my 'broken windows' theory for poor policing. Politico.com. Retrieved from https://advance-lexis-com.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:5GND-KWX1-JDJ6-K3JF-00000-00&context=1516831.

Lichtenberg, Illya. (2003). Police Discretion and Traffic Enforcement: A Government of Men. Cleveland State Law Review, 426-453.

Lilly, R., Cullen, F., & Ball, R. (2019). Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Mentel, Zoe (2012). Racial Reconciliatition, Truth-Telling, and Police Legitimacy. Washington, D.C.: US DOJ.

Swanson, C. R., Territo, L., & Taylor, R. W. (2017). Police Administration: Structures, Processes, and Behaviors. Boston: Pearson Education.

US DOJ: Community Oriented Policing Services. (2018). Civilian Oversight of the Police in Major Cities. Washington, D.C.: US DOJ.