Training: Lessons Learned Recommendations from Civil Rights Litigation
Train officers on the value of community-oriented policing
- Provide skills and techniques to effectively engage with community members
Train officers on the limits to the rights of the public per departmental policy
- Document and report to supervisors, instances where officers order members of the public to stop recording
- Report to supervisors when they believe they were recorded by the public
Stop or detain vehicles only where probable cause exists
- When the driver has committed a traffic violation
- When there is reasonable suspicion based on specific facts that the vehicle or an occupant has been or is going to be engaged in the commission of a crime
- Use specific language to justify the basis for the stop
Refrain from transporting subjects of an investigatory stop or detention if there is a lack of probable cause for an arrest
- This includes transporting for fingerprinting, questioning, or other investigatory purposes
Train supervisors on:
- Reviewing subordinate’s reports on stops for completeness, accuracy, and quality
- Strategies for identifying biased police practices
- Evaluating complaints of improper stops
- Recommending and administering proper disciplinary action when necessary
Train all officers at least annually on concepts related to investigatory stops and detentions
- Include a review of local, state, and federal laws
- Engage an instructor with significant experience in First and Fourth Amendment issues
Establish a training curriculum that includes:
- Requirements of the First and Fourth Amendments
- Differences between various police contacts by scope and degree of police intrusion
- Differences between probable cause, reasonable suspicion, and speculation
- Facts and circumstances that may be considered in initiating, conducting, terminating, and expanding an investigatory stop or detention
- Effects that differing approaches to stops can have on community perceptions of police legitimacy and public safety
- How to employ alternative strategies and tactics to avoid alienating the community
- The public’s right to witness, observe, record, comment, and/or complain about officer conduct
- Role-playing scenarios that illustrate proper police practices, methods, and tactics for conducting investigatory stops
Review training curriculum annually
- Ensure that it reflects current laws and constitutional requirements
The above findings from Civil Rights litigation come from each city's consent decree below. Use the following links to access the entire language from each city’s consent decree.
The information provided above has come directly from the consent decree language, which can be accessed by clicking on each corresponding city’s consent decree. When additional information was needed, subject-matter experts from the Department of Justice provided input. This information is intended to guide departments on decisions and actions to improve their Constitutional policing practices. Additional resources and information may be needed to implement these recommendations successfully. For assistance in implementing recommendations, contact the Knowledge Lab team.