Law Enforcement Policies
This Policies section highlights how law enforcement policy plays out in the real world, while also connecting you with best practices for drafting, updating and ensuring accountability with policies.
Learn how leadership, organizational behavior and mission-critical tools build competence, confidence and trust in public safety agencies
Failure to plan is planning to fail, and that’s glaringly evident when large-scale civil unrest breaks out
Capturing video evidence is key to effective policing, but without proper privacy measures, it can expose sensitive information, jeopardize investigations and erode public trust
From COVID-19 to civil unrest, police departments nationwide face unprecedented challenges
Some council members have softened their rhetoric, saying now that they do envision officers as part of any revamping of public safety
Video shows Andre Lee losing consciousness during the arrest. His wife tells responding officers he was under the influence of cocaine
The city’s department of youth and recreation will take over crisis intervention services, Mayor Lovely Warren announced Sunday
Police Chief James Craig said this won’t change anything because his officers have only used force when the protests turned violent
Gov. Greg Abbott has been critical of recent Austin City Council cuts to the agency’s budget
Law enforcement groups argued that the proposed system lacked basic due process protections
When you see another officer using force that you know is unreasonable, you are required to intercede
Throughout our police careers, we are told to intervene if we see another officer doing something wrong or illegal, but it is unclear exactly what we should do
The agency on Monday unveiled a draft of a discipline matrix that will guide punishment decisions
The new policy bans officers from shooting at moving vehicles and reclassifies a threat of force as a use of force incident
Advocates for the proposed program say it would be a more humane way to treat people in crisis and police could still be called for backup
Agencies that familiarize themselves with extremists’ cyber haunts stand a better chance of uncovering potential problems before they materialize
The mayor ordered police to stop using plainclothes officers in unmarked cars and to stop wearing camouflage at protests
A petition on the website asks residents to call on elected officials to invest in better policing
Violators could be charged with a gross misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and up to one year in jail, the release said
The civil complaint alleges the city’s new codes limiting the type of force officers can use conflict with state laws
The new unit is called the ACORNS Team, which stands for “addressing crises through outreach, referrals, networking and service”
The court said Newark’s Civilian Complaint Review Board may not have subpoena power, nor may it launch investigations at the same time a department is investigating its own officers
Supporters of the tactic say kettling helps police control a space, while critics say it can become dangerous if there’s no way for people to escape
A directive calls on every police station in the city to install one of the posters
It’s unclear how many of the separations are the direct result of the new law but interviews with chiefs and union officials suggest a number of them are
The use of the cameras by Tampa Bay’s largest agency is a major development in a region where the biggest agencies have been slow to adopt the technology
A bill by Senate Democrats would downgrade the charge of assault and battery on LEOs from a felony to a misdemeanor
The changes include who can authorize the use of tear gas and how to train for incidents involving mass arrests
One of the frustrations of the flood of reform recommendations is that the public is never informed that these practices are nearly universal in policing
Under the agreement, Las Cruces Police agreed to ban all chokeholds and fire any officer who violates the new policy
A work group was tasked with developing actionable and realistic police reform measures
The legislation, which has not yet passed the conference committee, would limit qualified immunity and ban chokeholds
The NYPD, Port Authority and state police were among the unions that filed the suit
