* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmembers Harris, Curran, Mitchell
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
Investigative Hearing - Police Quotas: Deja Vu All Over Again?
FOR the purpose of requesting the Baltimore Police Commissioner and the State's Attorney for Baltimore City to report to the City Council on recent allegations that a quota system that tracks the number of arrests in a number of categories is used as the basis of a performance evaluation system that determines the placement of certain members of the Baltimore City Police force.
Body
Recitals
In 2002, the announcement that Baltimore police officials were implementing a computer database to monitor the performance of the City's 3,200 officers was met with trepidation by police officers and union officials who feared that a system that collected data on sick leave and citizen complaints, as well as tracked officers arrests, car stops, accidents, and missed court dates, would be used to compare officers' performances, determine promotions and transfers, and lead to forced resignation, retirements, and firings.
The implementation of the computer tracking system was justified by high-ranking police officials as a means of positively assisting officers, by finding those who would benefit from counseling before they commit serious offenses that require strict discipline, and as a means of ultimately helping to "change the culture of the Police Department."
In July 2004, reports once again surfaced that Southwestern District officers had been issued a directive to meet a quota of at least 2 arrests per week and to require them to meet weekly minimum enforcement numbers for several types of police action, including car stops, stop and frisks, curfew violations, and parking tickets. The Police Commissioner at the time decried quotas and ordered the directive re-written without numbers.
Last year allegations regarding the use of quotas involved a point system reportedly established by Northern District commanders that establishes a performance evaluation system based on points. It included such scores as 1 - 3 points for seizing drugs, 1 point for filing a towed-vehicle report, 1 point for issuing 10 parking tickets, 5 points for catching juvenile curfew violators, and 3 points for each arrest.
The Northern District system was curtailed to avoid the appearance of a quota system; however, the official "performance enhancement program" that began last month appears eerily similar. Under the official program, all patrol officers are required to tally their enforcement statistics - from parking citations to felony arrests- that are then compared with averages from their squads and shifts.
The results of the evaluation led to the reassignment of the 27 lowest performing officers, 3 from each district, to another district. While the Department calls the reassignments an effort to assist in improving the performance of the officers, union officials call the action punitive. Officers' lives will be disrupted on the personal level as they must make new arrangements for child care and family-related activities based on an existing work schedule, and, on a professional level, officers will be placed in new territories that are unfamiliar.
While all persons in Baltimore share law enforcement's goal of decreasing criminal activity, we must find a way of doing so that does not rely on quantity of arrests but instead steadfastly emphasizes the quality of arrests - arrests that can be upheld by those charged with securing the successful prosecution of criminals and the dispensation of justice.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Baltimore Police Commissioner and the State's Attorney for Baltimore City are requested to report to the City Council on recent allegations that a quota system that tracks the number of arrests in a number of categories is used as the basis of a performance evaluation system that determines the placement of certain members of the Baltimore City Police force.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Baltimore Police Commissioner, the State's Attorney for Baltimore City, the President of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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