Hillard Heintze Presentation: American Policing

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State of the Union: American Policing Robert Davis, Chief of Police, San Jose Police Department, Retired SVP, Law Enforcement Advisory Services, Hillard Heintze

Recent/Ongoing Projects ●

Baltimore Police Department

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Denver Sheriff’s Department

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Seattle Police Department

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U.S. DOJ – Seattle

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Boulder, Colorado Police Department Pasco, Washington

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U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Chicago Metra Rail System Police Department King County, Washington Sheriff’s Department Schaumburg, Illinois Police Department Calexico, California Police Department

Today’s Discussion ●

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Who Are the Police in America?

Events Driving the Current State of Policing Current Challenges for U.S. Police What Are the Solutions?

American Police Agencies ●

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18,000 law enforcement agencies – more than 2/3 are local police departments.

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Approximately 900,000 local law enforcement officers.

1.2 million total when including federal agencies.

Nearly 400,000 non-sworn personnel at the local level.

Majority of agencies have fewer than 14 officers.

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Diversity has been focus of most major city agencies for decades.

Major Cities Chiefs Association:

• 17 African-American • 7 Hispanic • 9 Females • 2 Asians • 1 Pacific Islander ●

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Recent High Profile Police Use-of-Force Incidents

New York July 2014

Ferguson, Missouri

Pasco, Washington

August 2014

February 2015

North Charleston, South Carolina April 2015

Baltimore April 2015

Recent Assassinations of Police Officers

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6

Two New York Police Officers in Brooklyn – December 2014

Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy in Houston – August 2015

Current Challenges ●

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ALL cities experiencing heightened scrutiny of police practices – driven by media accounts and activist groups.

Breakdown in police and community relations after years of crime-fighting success – mostly through use of community policing concepts.

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Consent Decrees - Seattle, New Orleans, Albuquerque, Oakland and Cincinnati.

Concerns about militarization of the police.

Challenges with “de-policing” attitudes.

Difficulties in recruiting quality police candidates.

Negative impacts of pension reform.

Heightened Scrutiny –

Make no mistake – police agencies need to self-reflect.

Policies and procedures need updating – for agencies both large and small.

Use-of-force training – de-escalation techniques.

Crisis intervention training.

Continued effort to diversify police departments, particularly in small towns.

Context â—?

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Police agencies have dropped crime levels to their lowest in years, although crime is now on the rise.

Millions of day-to-day police contacts in America.

NYPD Fatal Shootings 2013: 8

1971: 93

Social Backdrop: A Polarized Nation ●

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Dysfunction of legislative bodies – seeming inability to engage in dialogue to collaborate and reach consensus.

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Red states versus blue states.

Reduction in level of professionalism in broadcast and print media as competition drives polarized discussions – “us versus them” storylines.

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Failure to achieve consensus on immigration issues, which impacts police relations with the community.

Lack of social services to address mental illness and homelessness.

Breakdown of family units - especially in inner cities.

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Police Leaders’ Actions

Driving “best practices” through organizations like the Major Cities Chiefs Association and the Major Counties Sheriffs Association.

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Re-Engineering Use-of-Force Policies De-Escalation Training Crisis Intervention Training Less-Lethal Weapons On-Body Cameras Bias-Free Policing Procedural Justice – While you may have a legal right to take a specific action, what is the best action to take?

Police Leaders’ Actions

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DOJ’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) collaborative reform effort.

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President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing – May 2015

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Policy analyses and focused forums by organizations like the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).

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Individual agency assessments by firms like Hillard Heintze, who focus on providing a “road map” forward for law enforcement agencies.

What the Future Holds

American policing will move forward because it is what we have done for decades.

We need to focus our efforts on coming together as a nation of united communities and states focused on finding common ground instead of constantly dividing ourselves over wedge-issue politics.

QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION –

Robert Davis, Chief of Police, San Jose P.D., Retired

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SVP, Law Enforcement Advisory Services

robert.davis@hillardheintze.com 30 South Wacker Drive, Suite 1400 Chicago, Illinois 60606 312.869.8500 –

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