Justice Department Cancels Proposed Consent Decrees with Minneapolis and Louisville

Strategic Insights -

The Justice Department has announced that it will cancel proposed consent decrees reached with Minneapolis and Louisville to implement policing reforms in the wake of the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. This decision marks a significant reversal from the previous administration, which had aggressively used investigations and decrees to push reforms at police departments accused of civil rights violations. Consent decrees are settlements of investigation findings that put in place a court-enforced improvement plan, requiring agencies to meet specific goals before federal oversight is removed.

Key Takeaways:

  • Consent decrees are settlements of investigation findings that put in place a court-enforced improvement plan, requiring agencies to meet specific goals before federal oversight is removed.
  • The 1994 crime bill gave the Justice Department the ability to conduct pattern or practice investigations specifically of police departments.
  • Consent decrees can be triggered by high-profile excessive or fatal use-of-force incidents, citizen complaints, or be started at the request of local or state officials.
  • The Justice Department has used consent decrees to address findings of civil rights violations or unconstitutional practices, such as monitoring mandated desegregation in schools or addressing unconstitutional conditions in jails or prisons.
  • In the case of Minneapolis and Louisville, the consent decrees included reforms related to policies, training requirements, data practices, oversight, and other policing practices.
  • Consent decrees can last for five years or longer, with some lasting a decade or more, depending on the agreements reached between the Justice Department and local officials.
  • Success of a consent decree is measured through regular monitor reports, agency audits, and community-trust surveys, which track policy compliance and community satisfaction.
  • Critics of police department consent decrees argue that they can come with expensive tabs, including paying the monitor, but advocates argue that the money spent on improving training and accountability often means less payouts later in civil-liability claims.

Statistics:

  • Length of consent decrees: 5 years (targeted by former AG Merrick Garland) to over a decade (in some cases).
  • Cost of consent decrees: often in the millions, including paying the monitor.
  • Number of consent decrees affected by the Justice Department's announcement: 7 (including Minneapolis and Louisville).
  • Number of consent decrees that have been concluded: at least 2 (Albuquerque Police Department and New Orleans Police Department).

Sources:

  • "What are consent decrees and how do they work?" by Rachel Barringer, The Hill.
  • "US to phase out use of consent decrees to monitor police departments" by Claudia Laurer, Reuters.
  • "How do consent decrees affect local police departments?" by Alex del Carmen, School of Criminology at Tarleton State University.