MOCO Police Audit Calls For Review Of Use Of Force Cases

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — An audit of the Montgomery County Police Department named the process of internally investigating use of force accusations and mental health response as two key areas for improving the department. Other key areas were recruitment and hiring, and recruit education and training.

"The MCPD is a high-performing organization," the audit says. "Yet, like all high-performing organizations, there is not only opportunity for improvement but continuous improvement is essential to maintaining pace with constantly changing environmental circumstances and public expectations."

The preliminary results of the audit, conducted by Effective Law Enforcement for All, were released last week and are part of the county's larger "Reimagining Public Safety" initiative that began in 2020. The county will hold a community forum to get the public's input on the audit and Montgomery County policing on July 7 at 6 p.m.

Here are some of the recommendations:

This is a collection of some of the recommendations. To see all of them, take a look at the audit.

Use of Force:

"In general, certain systems could be improved to reduce subjectivity," the audit says. "We are working with the department to have a clearer understanding of their policies, practices and investigations to provide current best-practice standards for the final report.

Recommendations:

• Identify and define what a serious use of force is
• Determine a single repository for use of force and internal affairs incidents
• Investigate all use of force incidents

Mental Health Response:

"The Department’s policies for responding to mental health calls are impractical and, consequently, often not relied upon," the audit says. "County resources devoted to mental crisis response are inadequate and poorly coordinated."

Recommendations:

• Consider mandating Crisis Intervention experience for all Sergeants, FTO’s and any newly promoted Commanders, which with attrition and promotion, will build capacity and a culture of understanding the importance of the CIT program (MCPD already requires Crisis Intervention training after officers leave the academy, but this would include refresher courses)

Recruitment and Hiring:

"The MCPD is committed to adopting and preserving innovative recruitment methods, and maintaining high standards for recruiting diverse, qualified, and committed future officers," the audit says. "The Department has built partnerships with educational institutions to enhance relationships with youth in Montgomery County, although these partnerships rely on the School Resource Officer (SRO) program, which is highly controversial in the County and there are pending proposals to revise or eliminate the program as it currently operates."

Recommendations:

• Consider increasing the starting salary for entry-level police officers to become more competitive in the Washington Metropolitan area

Recruit Education and Training:

"MCPD training is overall high quality and produces highly trained officers," the audit says. "Academy leadership is experienced and committed to meeting best-practices standards for police training. Reflecting that commitment, MCPD appears to recognize the need for additional training on de-escalation, procedural justice, community policing, and bias-free policing and has initiated steps to provide that training."

Recommendations:

• Require more human relations training (bias free, procedural justice) on an annual basis

"Montgomery County Police Department acknowledges the excellent work thus far provided by Effective Law Enforcement for All regarding the current audit," said MCPD Police Chief Marcus Jones in a news release. "The department continues to assist with an in-depth view and analysis of the policies, practices, and procedures for effective police reform of this agency. We are committed to be a better police department and providing excellent police service for everyone."

The county was planning on doing this audit even before the murder of George Floyd cast a spotlight on use of force tactics in police departments across the county, Elrich said at a presentation of the results last Wednesday.

“We need to own the fact that the history of policing in this country and even in this county has not been a model of justice and equity," said Elrich at the presentation.

Sign up for the community forum here.