DPD 21st Century Policing.
On Friday, the Board of Police Commissioners (BOPC) released the full annual report on Detroit Police Department’s (DPD) progress toward fulfilling policy and practice reform according to the 2015 “21st Century Policing” model established by former President Barack Obama.
The yearly report is geared toward tracking DPD’s planning and implementation of goals centered on departmental accountability and transparency with respect to community relations and concerns of safety.
Bryan Ferguson, Chair of the Board of Police Commissioners, spoke with the Michigan Chronicle on Detroit Police Department’s recent report and their progress adhering to the 21st Century Policing model.
“Community relations stands out to me,” said Chair Ferguson. “That is the driving force behind Detroit, a good police-community relations. And that we have. There’s no mistaking that we have that and I think the city benefits from engagement. Detroit protests, they have been often marred with some negativity, but for the most part they’re real peaceful.”
He spoke of DPD’s community engagement efforts, such as Chief White’s Walk-A-Mile-Wednesdays in different precincts and Peacenic events at the 8th and 9th precincts for folks to interact with personnel from DPD, the FBI, ATF, and the Fire Department.
On July 21, BOPC reviewed an initial department report during a public meeting.
Raven Alfred, executive manager of DPD’s planning, research, and development (PRD), presented a brief overview of DPD’s responses on adhering to the six pillars.
Commissioners provided initial comments on the presentation, including Commissioner Lisa Carter.
“It’s good to see that we’re moving in the right direction,” said Carter.
After the presentation, several issues were in contention between commissioners, including the need for community feedback on DPD’s use of new technology. This concerns the controversial use of ShotSpotter and downtown’s mobile weapon detectors.
Commissioner Willie Burton raised concerns regarding DPD’s use of technology and sufficient community input.
“On behalf of the citizens of Detroit,” said Commissioner Burton, “Another layer in building trust, community trust, is when Detroit Police Department is using technology where we don’t even hear from the vendors, we don’t even hear from those companies in regard to how technology is being used and should we be using that technology, for starters, and what is the return on investment. A lot of this is that Detroiters would love to hear more about and learn more about, but also, I feel like be included in that type of discussion.”
Alfred responded, “As mentioned in the COGIS ordinance, we are required to provide that community input for technology that we wish to provide to the citizens of Detroit. So, with that report, we are being transparent in making sure the community has a say and their responsiveness on whether or not they want this technology to be implemented in their areas. We just have an open discussion to make sure that what we are implementing in this city is welcomed by the citizens of Detroit.”
The discussion escalated into another habitual argument between commissioners, namely Commissioner Burton and Chair Ferguson, as they continued to voice opposing opinions during regular meetings.
“There is so much misinformation about ShotSpotter, it’s crazy,” Chair Ferguson told the Michigan Chronicle. “I wish all the commissioners would go out on it so they could see exactly how it works and see what it does. And that way they can go and tell their districts on this is what it is. And that is the policy that we’re putting together and they’re not violating any policy because ShotSpotter basically is just to stop you from shooting that gun in the air. That’s it in a nutshell.”
ShotSpotter technology is currently only used in two districts, the 8th and 9th precincts. Chair Ferguson said he has seen a significant reduction in gun violence in these areas and hopes to duplicate this mechanism throughout the city.
“Right now, over here in the eight precinct, it is quiet,” said Chair Ferguson. “Last night, I heard bugs chirping, I thought I was in the country.”
Regarding the adoption of body camera technology, Chair Ferguson said they are important tool to hold citizens accountable.
“You can’t take those body cameras away from officers now, at first there was push back, but now, please, they love them,” said Chair Ferguson, “Because that’s their alibi, if you would say. If a citizen said police did this to me, uh uh let’s press play. Where did the officers do that to you at? So now you hold citizens accountable.”
DPD’s 2022 Status Report on 21st Century Policing
The report begins with a memo from Detroit Police Chief James E. White stating, “Overall, the department continues to be a standard-bearer in constitutional and community-policing with its strong policies and practices.”
DPD responded to seven outlined recommendations and several action items, including a response to building a culture that embraces a dedication to procedural justice with a “guardian mindset to build public trust and legitimacy.”
The following is a brief overview of DPD’s status report on reform measures:
- Launching the DPD Office Internal and External Relations (OIER) unit is designed to strengthen the department’s community relations process.
- Procedural Justice and Police Legitimacy, a division of OIER, established the Police Community Summit initiatives for community discussions to foster mutual understanding between the citizens and police.
- The City of Detroit launched its Open Data Portal to increase public access to valuable information, including Crime Viewer.
- Planning, Research, and Deployment (PRD) work to involve members in updating policies and procedures per research on best practices.
- Regarding the internal disciplinary process, the Discipline and Professional Standards Bureau work through the union to “administer discipline while taking into account the rights of individual officers.”
- The Chief of Neighborhood Liaison proactively facilitates positive community relations to reduce crime.
- The department is exploring the feasibility of incentivizing residency programs for officers.
- While the DPD Training Directive on Immigration Enforcement requires the department to cooperate with federal officers to enforce policy, the department advises against “unnecessary solicitation of an individual’s immigration status.”
- DPD directs any issues regarding an officer’s use of force to the Use of Force/Detainee Injury Report (UF-002) for documentation
- The department added a de-escalation section for alternative techniques to higher levels of source, including allowing individuals time and opportunity to respond to verbal commands to understand any potential barriers, including language barriers and behavioral crises.
- In the event of mass demonstrations, officers have an imperative to “restore law and order” by utilizing verbal commands as a primary means to main control of protesters. Use of force will only be issued if deemed necessary and measured with the response.
In August 2020, the BOPC passed a resolution affirming Detroit’s commitment to President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing and its six pillars and recommendations for implementation that is “co-produced” with neighborhood residents. The pillars include building trust and legitimacy, policy and oversight, technology and social media, community policing and crime reduction, training and education, and officer wellness and safety.
Of the 59 recommendations and 92 action items delineated in the report identified by the 21st Century Policing Task Force for local, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies and schools, BOPC found only 24 recommendations and 41 action items applied to DPD as a local agency.
In part, the resolution also included a request for the police department to submit an annual report every August on their progress toward the recommendations.
On August 12, BOPC shared the full report for public review and comment through Monday, September 12, 2022. The public may email comments to bopc@detroitmi.gov or share comments at upcoming Board meetings. BOPC will review community feedback after the 30-day window and submit a final report after an additional 30 days.