Is the Hanover Park Police Department familiar with the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing Report?

In December of 2014, President Obama commissioned the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.  This Task Force was chaired by Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and was comprised of law enforcement professionals, community and youth leaders, and academics.  The President’s Task Force sought to identify best practices in policing and provide guidance on how to promote effective crime control while focusing on building public trust in the police.  The Task Force released a comprehensive report in 2015, presenting six main topic areas or ‘pillars’ for law enforcement agencies to focus on: Building Trust and Legitimacy, Policy and Oversight, Technology and Social Media, Community Policing and Crime Reduction, Officer Training and Education, and Officer Safety and Wellness.  Within each Pillar’s subsection of the report, the Task Force made numerous recommendations for law enforcement agencies to adopt.  Use of force, de-escalation strategies, community policing, and partnership building were major areas of concentration in the report.  The Task Force report became a significant topic of conversation within the law enforcement profession immediately upon its release.

As an agency, we took an in-depth look at the report and all the recommendations made under each pillar.  A comprehensive report on Hanover Park PD’s compliance with the Task Force Report was completed and disseminated in June of 2016.  We found that most of the recommendations made were things we had already done or were in the process of doing.  While the report is now several years old, we consider it to still be an excellent guiding document for managing a police agency in the United States.  The Hanover Park compliance report was unique, and we are proud to say we were one of the first agencies to undertake this.  The report itself has been shared with police agencies in several states, and Deputy Chief Johnson, who compiled the report, was a guest blogger on the International Association of Chiefs of Police Social Media Beat blog, discussing how the department analyzed and implemented the Task Force Report’s recommendations.  The report can be viewed here.

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1. Are Hanover Park Police Officers trained to de-escalate altercations by using peaceful conflict resolution strategies?
2. Are Hanover Park Police officers forbidden to use chokeholds? Are they allowed to transport prisoners in the prone position?
3. Are Hanover Park Police Officers required to intervene if they witness another officer using excessive force? Will officers be reprimanded if they fail to intervene?
4. Are Hanover Park Police Officers forbidden from shooting at moving vehicles?
5. Is there a clear and enforced use-of-force continuum that details what weapons and force are acceptable in a wide variety of police-civilian interactions?
6. Are Hanover Park Police Officers required to exhaust every other possible option before using excessive force?
7. Are Hanover Park Police Officers required to give a verbal warning to civilians before drawing their weapon or using excessive force?
8. Are Hanover Park Police Officers required to report each time they use force on civilians?
9. Are Hanover Park Police Officers thoroughly vetted to ensure that they do not have a history with abuse, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, or discrimination?
10. Are Hanover Park Police Officers trained to perform and seek necessary medical action after using force?
11. Is there an early intervention system enforced to correct officers who use excessive force?
12. How many excessive force complaints does an officer have to receive before they are reprimanded? Before they are terminated?
13. Is there a report on civilian deaths that occurred in custody as a result of use of excessive force by a police officer?
14. How does the Hanover Park Police Department handle citizen complaints?
15. Is the Hanover Park Police Department familiar with the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing Report?
16. Does the Hanover Park Police Department regularly review and update department policies and employ best practices?