Law enforcement faces a major issue in today’s culture. A widespread view holds that police abuse their authority, violate rights, use excessive force, and are corrupt. In this age of protests, police agitators, and social media platforms that can connect all anti-police groups, society is fed the story that the typical officer is bad. Police agencies, district attorneys, and the news media should counter this false narrative and provide accurate statistics and facts that tell the true story.

Of course, no profession or group of people is perfect. While police officers uphold a high standard and honor an oath that comes with great responsibility, they still make mistakes. Further, there is always a small group of “bad apples,” which plenty of databases and organizations highlight. 

Balanced View

Officers may have a handful of civilian complaints on their record, and the public and defense attorneys may refer to them. When viewed as a list, the allegations can seem troubling. However, most officers have so many positive interactions with people that they overshadow the few times someone disagreed with their actions. For instance, four civilian complaints may sound bad, but it should be publicized that the officer likely has had thousands of dealings with the public. In many cases, the allegations are either unsubstantiated or exonerated, but they still perpetuate the negative view of police.

Although instances of wrongdoing have occurred, police agencies should document and emphasize that 1) this has involved a small percentage of police officers and/or 2) negative instances are outliers in a specific officer’s career. Just as the public demands that law enforcement not judge groups by the behaviors of a few, agencies should ensure people do not base their perception of the police on a handful of bad officers. Law enforcement professionals know the truth. It is time to promote it.

According to the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, 86% of active officers have never received a substantiated civilian complaint.¹ This is impressive when considering that a complaint could be for something as minor as use of a curse word and that officers face hundreds of adversarial interactions and intense conflicts in a career. Officers need to draw attention to the fact that they usually stick to the higher standard they hold themselves to.

Positive Solution

Law enforcement needs to use analytics to combat police vilification. To this end, the NYPD has recently created an “officer profile” on its website.² Users can search officers by name or badge number and view arrests made and medals awarded. While this is a great start, such efforts need to go further and be more detailed. 

Departments should provide statistics that accurately portray the generally excellent work by police. All agencies — as policy allows — should have online profiles that provide a detailed analysis of what an officer does and the frequency of those events.

• 911 calls responded to
• Injuries sustained while trying to help someone
• Letters of appreciation received from community members
• Violent felony arrests made
• Positive reviews from a supervisor

Establishing and maintaining an online database is only one solution. Officers deserve to know the statistics regarding good police work, but such information should also be aggressively promoted and shared with union delegates, district attorneys, the media, and the public.

Union delegates must have the ammunition to help officers deal with civilian complaints, litigation, and discipline.

District attorneys should be requested to fight against the negative characterization of officers during trials and hearings. When a defense attorney lists an officer’s complaints, the prosecution could detail the officer’s medals. The district attorney should acknowledge how low the number of complaints are compared with the frequency of the officer’s interactions with people.

Departments and the public love statistics. Community boards need to be aware of the positive officer analyses as well. The community should know what officers really do every day — how many calls they answer, reports they take, arrests they make, and quality of life concerns they address.

Supervisors have an important role as well. The NYPD created the Cop Rapid Assessment Feedback Tool (CRAFT), which gives supervisors the ability to highlight positive work that their officers do.³ It is a great opportunity for managers to help defend against the attack on police. Excellent work should routinely be documented in programs and databases so that officers may refer to these instances.

Many anti-police groups have agendas, and their negative opinions of police will never change.  However, accurate facts and statistics can help delegitimize them. Defense attorneys, civilian complaint boards, and radical anti-police groups have controlled the narrative of police for too long.

Favorable analyses can have positive effects on officers. They can empower those otherwise likely to succumb to decreased motivation. Negative pictures and false narratives can devastate an officer’s morale and create a sense of self-doubt. When officers hear a lawyer or member of the public attack their career with lists of allegations and negative instances, they will likely lose confidence. If officers constantly have their confidence and self-worth attacked without anyone fighting for them, they can begin to hesitate on the street. Even worse, they may stop caring. 

Conclusion

Although the creation and promotion of positive officer databases is only one way to combat police vilification, it is an important starting point. Statistics that show the genuinely good work that police do can improve both the way the public sees police and how officers view themselves. We need police to continue to care; everyone benefits from that. It is time to show the real picture of law enforcement and get accurate statistics and facts out there.