DOJ Presents Findings Of 6-Year Review Of Mpls. Police
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minneapolis Police Department just got the results of a six-year review of conduct of its officers and oversight process.
The analysis was requested by Chief Janee Harteau and conducted by the Department of Justice Diagnostic Center.
Members of the U.S. Department of Justice spent the past year reviewing six years of records from the internal affairs unit and from the office of police conduct review.
It commended the department for recognizing the need for reform early.
"It's all about improving officer performance," said Stephen Rickman, senior advisor at the Department of Justice. "By doing that, we hopefully prevent problems down the road and we manage risk for both the community and the department."
The review says the department has improved corrective action or officer coaching in the past six years, but it does say the department needs to improve community-police relations.
"There is a need to build police community collaboratives in certain neighborhoods, where you partner directly with citizens and develop community safety strategies," Rickman says.
The analysis also shows a need for an better early intervention system.
"Catching people doing things right, but when they're not doing things right, catching it early," said Chief Janee Harteau.
Community members were also interviewed as part of the review that cost taxpayers nothing. They were presented with the findings Wednesday, and will also play a role in bringing about change in the department.
"This is about changing behavior to a more effective professional behavior, it's about accountability, it's about building community relations and public trust and it's about being more effective in what we do on a daily basis," Harteau said.
She says the review validated some of the progress made by the department and also shows where it can improve.
Harteau says she'll take feedback from the community and implement an action plan in coming weeks.
