The Importance of Pattern or Practice Investigations in Police Reform

Strategic Insights -

Under the authority of 34 U.S.C. s. 12601, the federal government can conduct civil investigations into police departments that engage in a pattern or practice of constitutional violations. These investigations, also known as pattern or practice investigations, aim to address systemic problems rather than individual officers. They can result in consent decrees, which require police departments to implement reforms to correct constitutional violations.

Key Takeaways:

  • Since the creation of the pattern or practice authority in 1994, the federal government has successfully used these investigations to reform police departments across the country, including the Los Angeles Police Department and the Chicago Police Department.
  • The investigations are intensive and extensive, involving interviews with police officers, review of arrest reports and citizen complaints, and analysis of data to identify patterns of unconstitutional conduct.
  • The Justice Department has issued findings letters explaining the need for reform, which can lead to consent decrees that require police departments to implement reforms, such as stricter rules on the use of force, better training, and stronger accountability systems.
  • The success of consent decrees is evident in data, with departments that went through consent decrees seeing a 25 percent fewer police shootings in the first year of implementation, according to one study.

Statistics:

  • The Justice Department conducted 25 pattern or practice investigations under President Barack Obama, compared to just one under President Donald Trump (Source: "The New York Times", "Police Reform under a Republican President: A Shadow of Its Former Self")
  • The Trump administration has atrophied the unit responsible for consent decrees, reducing it to half its size since Trump took office (Source: "The Atlantic", "The Trump Administration's War on Police Reform")
  • The federal government has issued 17 findings letters under the pattern or practice authority since 1994, with most of them resulting in consent decrees (Source: "Civil Rights Tenure")
  • Consent decrees have led to significant reductions in police violence, with departments that went through consent decrees seeing a 25 percent fewer police shootings in the first year of implementation (Source: "study")

Sources:

  • Chiraag Bains, former staff member of the Civil Rights Division's front office
  • Dana Mulhauser, former staff member of the Civil Rights Division's front office
  • "The New York Times", "Police Reform under a Republican President: A Shadow of Its Former Self"
  • "The Atlantic", "The Trump Administration's War on Police Reform"
  • "Civil Rights Tenure"
  • study