Policing Practices (2022)
The League supports:
Traffic stops:
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Racial and identity profiling by law enforcement is not acceptable. The LWVSD supports effective data collection on law enforcement officer encounters with the community so that any bias can be determined and addressed;
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Effective anti-bias training is necessary both in the initial training of new law enforcement officers and in regular refresher courses to reduce racial or identity profiling;
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The LWVSD supports seeking alternatives to the deployment of armed law enforcement officers in routine traffic stops as a means of reducing the number of such stops which escalate into violence.
Surveillance: Cities and counties should enact privacy and technology-use ordinances to protect privacy and other civil liberties. The proposed ordinances should include requirements for:
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Audits of specified policy and data in an annual surveillance report that is publicly available;
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Evidence of crime-prevention effectiveness, civil rights impact, fiscal costs, and source of funding for surveillance technology;
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Establishment of independent civilian commissions at the local jurisdiction level which consist of representatives of involved communities of interest such as civil rights advocates, attorneys, marginalized groups, specialists in technology, privacy and open government, to oversee all law enforcement and government acquisition and use of technology for surveillance;
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Enforcement of violations of the ordinances;
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Protection of whistleblowers.
Police in Schools:
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Shift funding away from supporting the use of school-based police and toward the use of school-based mental health and counseling personnel who use trauma-informed practices, transformative justice, and other supportive approaches.
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Law enforcement officers assigned to schools should not be armed; Rather, law enforcement agencies should provide additional training in mental health, restorative practices and de-escalation.
Police Discipline:
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Law enforcement agencies should keep records of all complaints made against a law enforcement officer for at least five years with the records reviewed at least once a year to determine if there is a pattern of misbehavior;
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An investigation should be conducted of all complaints, however received, with the complainant informed of the action taken to ensure officers are held to a strict standard of behavior;
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All law enforcement agencies should have a published list of misconduct and expected punishment for the breach of those standards to clarify expectations for both the officers and the public.
Police Unions: The League supports restricting law enforcement collective bargaining to salaries, working conditions, benefits, and aspects of workers compensation; any other topics would need public notification and input.