An Assessment of the St. Louis County Police Department
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COLLABORATIVE REFORM INITIATIVE An Assessment of the St. Louis County Police Department Blake Norton, Edwin E. Hamilton, Rick Braziel, Daniel Linskey & Jennifer Zeunik COLLABORATIVE REFORM INITIATIVE An Assessment of the St. Louis County Police Department Blake Norton, Edwin E. Hamilton, Rick Braziel, Daniel Linskey & Jennifer Zeunik This project was supported by cooperative agreement number 2014-CR-WX-K002 awarded by the Office of Commu- nity Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the author(s) or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues. This document contains preliminary analysis that is subject to further review and modification. It may not be quoted or cited and should not be disseminated further without the express permission of the Police Foundation or the U.S. Department of Justice. Any copyright in this work is subject to the Government’s Unlimited Rights license as defined in FAR 52-227.14. The reproduction of this work for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. Nongovernmental us- ers may copy and distribute this document in any medium, either commercial or noncommercial, provided that this copyright notice is reproduced in all copies. Nongovernmental users may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies they make or distribute. Nongovernmental users may not accept compensation of any manner in exchange for copies. All other rights reserved. The Internet references cited in this publication were valid as of the date of this publication. Given that URLs and websites are in constant flux, neither the author(s) nor the COPS Office can vouch for their current validity. Recommended citation: Norton, Blake, Edwin E. Hamilton, Rick Braziel, Daniel Linskey, and Jennifer Zeunik. 2015. An Assessment of the St. Louis County Police Department. Collaborative Reform Initiative. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Published 2015 Contents Letter from the Director ..................................................................... .vii Acknowledgments ........................................................................... ix Executive Summary .......................................................................... 1 Methodology ........................................................................................2 Key findings and recommendations ..................................................................3 Chapter 1. Introduction ...................................................................... 12 COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance ..................................12 Collaborative reform in the St. Louis County (Missouri) Police Department ...........................13 Organization of this report. 14 Chapter 2. St. Louis County Police Department Background ................................... .15 Overview ...........................................................................................15 Community and officer demographics . .15 CALEA certification. .17 Impact of St. Louis region police agencies on SLCPD .................................................18 Chapter 3. Methodology ..................................................................... 21 Chapter 4. Recruitment and Hiring ........................................................... 22 Overview ............................................................................................22 Management and administration. .23 SLCPD police officer hiring process ..................................................................24 Findings and recommendations. 28 Chapter 5. Basic Recruit Training ............................................................. .32 Overview ............................................................................................32 Management and administration. .32 Academy training ...................................................................................33 Field training program overview .....................................................................35 Field training instructor requirements. .37 Findings and recommendations. 38 Chapter 6. Promotions and Postpromotional Training ......................................... .41 Criteria for promotions ..............................................................................41 Findings and recommendations. 44 – iii – COLLABORATIVE REFORM INITIATIVE An Assessment of the St. Louis County Police Department Chapter 7. In-service Training ................................................................. 45 Missouri POST Requirements ........................................................................45 Instructor requirements .............................................................................45 Mandatory in-service training. .47 Findings and recommendations. 47 Chapter 8. Responses for Handling Protests and Mass Demonstrations ......................... 48 Snapshot of civil disturbance response teams and training ...........................................48 Overview of police response in Ferguson ............................................................50 Response to the grand jury announcement. .50 Findings and recommendations. 52 Chapter 9. Five-year Analysis of Vehicle Traffic Stops, 2010–2014 ................................ 59 Introduction. 59 Overview ...........................................................................................59 Limitations on SLCPD traffic stop data and analysis ...................................................61 Methodology .......................................................................................63 Analysis of vehicle stop data. 63 Additional analysis: Comparison of precinct level stop data to county-wide stop data ................69 Summary of conclusions ............................................................................71 Findings and recommendations. 71 Chapter 10. Five-year Analysis of Use of Force Incidents, 2009–2013 ............................ 78 Introduction. 78 Management and administration. .79 Methodology . 83 Key conclusions and supporting data on analysis of use of force data ................................84 Findings and recommendations ....................................................................94 Chapter 11. Complaint Process ............................................................... 95 Overview ............................................................................................95 Management and administration. .95 Findings and recommendations. .102 – iv – Contents Chapter 12. Community Outreach ........................................................... 106 Overview ...........................................................................................106 Department culture ................................................................................107 Community engagement ..........................................................................108 Problem solving. .109 Communication strategy ...........................................................................110 Stakeholder feedback: Community attitudes toward police .........................................110 Stakeholder feedback: Police .......................................................................114 Findings and recommendations. .115 Chapter 13. Conclusion and Next Steps ...................................................... 124 Appendices ................................................................................ 126 Appendix A. Reference materials consulted by the Police Foundation . .126 Appendix B. Detailed review and analysis of traffic stops by precinct data ...........................127 Appendix C. Traffic stops chart. .135 Appendix D. Deadly use of force chart ..............................................................136 Appendix E. Nondeadly use of force chart ..........................................................137 Appendix F. Findings and recommendations ........................................................138 Abbreviations .............................................................................. 164 Glossary ................................................................................... 166 About the Police Foundation ................................................................ 167 About the COPS Office ...................................................................... 168 – v – Letter from the Director Dear colleagues, In August of 2014, Chief John Belmar of the St. Louis County Police Department (SLCPD) requested partici- pation in the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance (CRT-TA) process. CRI-TA is a nonadversarial, voluntary process that can assist law enforcement agencies in strengthening and building mutual trust with the communities they serve. It helps agencies develop long-term strategies for sustainable, positive change through community policing principles. It is a rigorous process that re- quires a comprehensive assessment of key operational areas within a police department to identify issues that affect public trust, agency effectiveness, and officer