2016 Knighton Award Submission Form

Transcription

1 Page 1 of Knighton Award Submission Form 2016 Knighton Award Submission Form Instructions The Knighton Award submission package must be uploaded by January 27, 2017 A. SUBMITTING ORGANIZATION Please enter all information as you would like it to appear in official correspondence in the event you win a Knighton Award Audit Organization Local Government Name Report Title Chief Audit Executive (Name and Title) CAE's Office of the Auditor City and County of Denver Audit of Police Operations - District Patrol Timothy O'Brien, CPA - City Auditor TimothyM.OBrien@denvergov.org CAE's Phone Number Mailing Address 201 W. Colfax Ave., Dept. 705, Denver, CO Size of Audit Organization Extra-Large (> 15 Auditors) B. MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS 1. Are you a current ALGA organizational member? 2. Was the report issued within calendar year 2016 Date report issued January 21, Do you take "major responsibility" for the conduct of the audit? 4. Was the audit conducted in accordance with either Yellow or Red Book standards? 5. Does the report include a

2 Page 2 of 5 standards compliance statement or modified compliance statement? What page is the compliance statement on? 6. Please check the box below granting ALGA permission to post your report on ALGA's website if it wins a Knighton award p. 3 of the pdf C. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Please provide a brief narrative to help the judges understand how your report submission meets or exceeds the following Knighton Award criteria. Criteria #1 - An audit scope that has the potential for significant impact, and is responsive to the needs and concerns of decision-makers and/or the public The objective of the audit was to examine and review the Denver Police Department s (DPD) policies and practices related to self-initiated actions to determine whether DPD is effective, consistent, and equitable when applying these policing tactics. Our scope focused on reviewing the department s community policing efforts, including strategies and policies for initial implementation and roll-out of a department-wide body worn camera program. This audit scope had the potential for affecting anyone in the City and County of Denver who may interact with Denver police officers. It was also directly aligned with policy changes at the federal level; In late 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the adoption of stricter policies to ensure that federal law enforcement personnel conduct their activities in an unbiased manner. Further, President Obama created the federal Task Force on 21st Century Policing in December 2014 to strengthen relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve, especially in light of highly publicized events in Staten Island, New York; Ferguson, Missouri; and Cleveland, Ohio. DPD operates under a community-oriented policing philosophy, which is widely regarded among law enforcement professionals and researchers as an effective method of deterring crime and reducing fear. Police departments, through community policing tactics, seek to build trust and mutual respect between police and the communities they serve. To this end, DPD has established various complementary goals for officers, including spending 35 percent of available time conducting self-initiated or Class 2 actions. Further, DPD has a Biased-Policing Policy that discourages practices of singling-out or treating individuals

3 Page 3 of 5 differently on the basis of various characteristics or traits. By assessing DPD s adherence to this philosophy and making recommendations for related activities, this audit was created with great potential to improve police interactions with citizens, as well as positively affect citizen perceptions of and trust in DPD. Criteria # 3 - Audit recommendations that are feasible, and will make government programs more effective and efficient Audit work found that DPD did not have sufficient data to determine whether its community policing efforts are effective and equitable. Accordingly, we recommended that DPD should use an established Community Policing Self-Assessment Tool to inform strategic planning, identify training needs, and promote their community policing efforts to the public. We also recommended that DPD begin collecting demographic data for Class 2 (self-initiated) actions to ensure that officers were acting in compliance with the Biased-Policing Policy. These recommendations were designed to assess the effectiveness and equitability of its community policing activities and ultimately enhance trust in Denver law enforcement. DPD agreed to explore options for using a tool to assess the effectiveness of its community policing activities. However, the department initially disagreed with our recommendation to begin collecting demographic data during Class 2 stops. DPD leadership argued that collecting demographic data was not necessarily the best way to assess the Department s compliance with its Biased-Policing Policy and expressed concern that the data collection recommended by the Auditor s Office could turn positive non-enforcement police contacts into negative interactions. Less than a year later, DPD changed course and decided to adopt our data-collection recommendation. In August 2016, DPD announced that it would begin collecting racial and other demographic data on individuals contacted by officers for a law enforcement purpose. Denver s Independent Monitor, Nick Mitchell, whose office is charged with reviewing allegations of police misconduct, agreed that such data collection is important for measuring compliance with DPD s Biased-Policing Policy. In an interview, Mitchell said: The policy change shows the value of collaboration between our safety agencies, the community and Auditor O Brien s office. I believe that collecting this data will enhance trust in Denver law enforcement. The audit received significant media coverage, both initially and after DPD changed course on data collection. PRINT COVERAGE The Denver Post Denver auditor recommends police keep racial data on stops The Colorado Independent Denver police say racial profiling isn t

4 Page 4 of 5 happening. Where s the data? The Denver Post Opinion The value of Denver police collecting racial data The Denver Post Denver police chief changes mind, says the department will begin collecting racial data on traffic, pedestrian stops The Denver Post Community activists want input as Denver police develops plan to measure racial bias The Denver Post Editorials Denver police correct to collect racial data TELEVISION COVERAGE Denver 7 News (ABC) Audit determines Denver Police does not collect enough data to know if racial profiling exist Denver 9 News (NBC) DPD to use data to combat racial bias Denver 4 News (CBS) Denver Police To Start Collecting Racial Data From Traffic Stops RADIO COVERAGE Colorado Public Radio Denver Police Reject Audit s Call To Collect Demographic Data Criteria #5 An audit scope, methodology, recommendations, or report format that is innovative Much about this audit was innovative, especially with regard to methodology and reporting. To establish a baseline understanding of community policing, we conducted a thorough literature review of academic theory as well as research conducted by law enforcement organizations and government agencies. To understand community policing in the context of Denver, we attended DPD community outreach events and conducted our own meetings with internal and external stakeholders. We also conducted ride-alongs to directly observe officer interactions with the public. We used data analysis in a variety of ways during this audit. First, we used data from DPD s computer aided dispatch system to understand changes in how officers across districts are spending their time on duty. We also performed data analysis (of the limited data available) to assess whether certain factors

5 Page 5 of 5 might explain discrepancies in Class 2 actions against pedestrians, such as race or ethnicity. We also engaged a third party to conduct an independent, statistically valid survey to document the perspectives of Denver citizens on community policing and Class 2 actions. However, we did not take the third party s conclusions at face value; rather, we looked at their data and drew our own conclusions, some of which differed from those presented by the consultant. Our independent assessment of the survey results, combined with our own data analysis, informed our recommendation that DPD begin collecting demographic data during Class 2 stops. With regard to reporting, we used a lot of visuals to explain our conclusions, including flow charts, segmented horizontal bar graphs, and line graphs. We also included an Other Pertinent Information section to inform citizens of relevant information that was not essential to the finding. This section explained DPD s decision to incorporate body worn cameras into its policing strategy, including through a pilot project concluded in Since body worn cameras are growing in use nationwide and may have a significant impact on community policing, we decided it was important to explore some of the issues that will impact the city and its people. Report Upload Chief Audit Executive Approval PoliceOperationsDistrictPatrol_AuditReport_Jan2016.pdf Agree D. VOLUNTARY SECTION - PROGRAM TRANSPARENCY EFFORTS Do you give permission to post your report on ALGA s website in the event it does not win a Knighton award? (optional) not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.