Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

And Now, a Word on Law Enforcement Reform From… Law Enforcement

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by

James A. Bacon
in

Howard Hall

by James A. Bacon

Democrats have gotten plenty of attention for their ideas on how to reform Virginia’s system of law enforcement and criminal justice in the wake of the George Floyd killing and statue-toppling movement. But this article in the Roanoke Times is the first I’ve seen that lays out the thinking of… someone in law enforcement.

Days after the Floyd killing in Minneapolis, Governor Ralph Northam stated publicly that black people have been killed by police because “in America, the color of their skin means that they are treated differently.”

Roanoke County Police Chief Howard Hall felt the Governor was painting police officers as racist. When he had the chance at a gathering of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, he asked Northam twice, “Who in Virginia would want to be a police officer right now?” In Hall’s telling of the story, Northam remained silent.

Hall is critical of many of the proposals advanced by Democratic lawmakers, which he describes as “platitudes that sound nice about social justice and racial equity.”

Lawmakers want to expand the use of body cameras Hall doesn’t oppose body cameras, he just doesn’t think they offer a good return on investment. He’d rather use the money to increase pay and incentivize people to making policing a career. He also opposes legalizing marijuana, reducing assaults on law enforcement officers from a felony to a misdemeanor, and programs that release convicts from prison early.

Among the ideas that the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police are in favor of.

  • Fund accreditation of police departments, which requires review of policies, equipment, hiring, training, response to mental health incidents, and bias-based policing. Only 130 of Virginia’s 365 agencies eligible for accreditation have received it.
  • Upgrade the process for de-certifying officers convicted of felonies or certain misdemeanors so that an officer fired from one jurisdiction cannot be hired in another. As an example, officers can falsify information and be unfit to testify on the stand, but if fired from one department, can be hired in another.
  • Provide funding to give all officers Crisis Intervention Training to respond to people with mental illnesses.
  • Invest in a statewide uniform electronic summons system to improve the quality of data collection.
  • Do not allow police unions. If police are allowed to join unions, ensure that the unions do not have the ability to intervene in disciplinary matters.
  • And, of course, a request by all government employees everywhere, increase salaries to improve recruitment and retention.

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13 responses to “And Now, a Word on Law Enforcement Reform From… Law Enforcement”

  1. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Here’s the thing. Do their views reflect the views of the community they serve?

    When they line up like they are separate and apart from who they are supposed to protect and serve – they’re on a wrong path…

    it’s not what the Chief believes… and the fact that he acts like he’s in charge and not those he serves is telling.

    If police were doing their job right – then what is all the upheaval about?

    let me guess… it’s the folks who are complaining …that are wrong, right?

  2. CrazyJD Avatar
    CrazyJD

    >>When they line up like they are separate and apart from who they are supposed to protect and serve – they’re on a wrong path…

    it’s not what the Chief believes… and the fact that he acts like he’s in charge and not those he serves is telling.>>

    Larry, could you please tell me what in the article leads you to believe the above statements?

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      ” Lawmakers want to expand the use of body cameras Hall doesn’t oppose body cameras, he just doesn’t think they offer a good return on investment. He’d rather use the money to increase pay and incentivize people to making policing a career. He also opposes legalizing marijuana, reducing assaults on law enforcement officers from a felony to a misdemeanor, and programs that release convicts from prison early.”

      He’s saying “we are the police and we do this” – as opposed to “we are the police and there are some problems and we’re going to address them”.

      He’s actually doubling down. no cameras and even stricter enforcement.

      Now, he is elected and if his position reflects his voters, so be it.

  3. TooManyTaxes Avatar
    TooManyTaxes

    Once again, Democrats pull punches (actually, they don’t punch at all) with respect to one of their own – Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D). And, of course, the suck-up MSM does the same. Don’t do the basics of government right (like identifying and removing police officers with bad records) but signal their virtue.

    Where did Dante put the hypocritical public officials? The 6th trench of the 8th Circle of Hell. Lot’s of elected and appointed officials from both parties are going to wind up here. And I strongly suspect that there will be a basement below trench 6 where one would find Northam.

  4. CrazyJD Avatar
    CrazyJD

    >>If police were doing their job right – then what is all the upheaval about?

    You have stumbled inexorably into the right question. Sort of. You make the assumption that they aren’t doing their job right, even though it’s clear that most of them are, with notable exceptions that we all agree on. In this, you take the notable exception and expand, extend, and oversimplify it into a general rule, which you then use to support the question what is the upheaval all about, based on what is already a fallacy of the unwarranted assumption. A logician would say, “it’s hard to make up logic this bad”

    Then there’s the valid point that you have unwittingly stumbled into, since you are clearly trying to argue the opposite. Setting aside whatever your definition of upheaval is, the majority of said “upheaval” is very clearly about radical leftist politics using the opportunity of a bad-policing incident to further leftist goals. Heck, they’re just following Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. Can’t blame them for trying. We just have to recognize it for what it is.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      well not me. what about all those folks in the street? Their viewpoint?

      just FYI – I think your “logic fallacy” is total BS… not buying it.. you’re making it up out of whole cloth and internet search results!

      try a different tact.. 😉

      Crazy – if you’re going to characterize all the folks in the street as Saul Alinsky types, you’re living in LA LA Land! You’re just dismissing out of hand what you do not agree with.

      SOME of the folks in the street might be Saul Alinsky types, I’ll grant you that. But a ton of others are ordinary folks… women wearing shorts and sandals as they march – they just don’t come across as “radical leftists”.

      Change is hard for some of us. We get locked into our ways and we find ourselves not understanding what is happening or why – so we just dismiss it. Big mistake.

    2. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Nope – not down on the Police – but we have some systemic/institutional issues that have to be addressed.

      Re: “the fallacy” – it’s too easy to use it as an excuse to disregard an argument and it’s often a matter of opinion, subjective – and it basically allows divergence from the core issue… i.e. the core issue can be restated if you don’t like the “form”, it’s still legitimate core issue.

      The police in this country have gotten into an “us versus them” mindset and have moved away from a “in-community” force – and way too prone to shoot first/manhandle and ask questions later and a basic presumption that they are correct until proven otherwise.

      They need to change. and no this is not a “logical fallacy”. 😉

      and yes.. I do care about the country and our community and want to see us do better… I’m an optimist who sees half-glass getting better – even as things sometimes go to hell in a handbasket sometimes.

      and yes… steer away from the “fallacy” stuff… it’s a crutch.

  5. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
    Reed Fawell 3rd

    “But a ton of others are ordinary folks… women wearing shorts and sandals as they march – they just don’t come across as “radical leftists”.”

    So did the great majority German men and yes women of Germany before Hitler enlisted them into the Nazi cause and mission, as did Mussolini with the typical Italian youth, and many of their parents. Millions died at their hands. Same with Stalin and Mao over a period of decades.

  6. djrippert Avatar
    djrippert

    Of course he opposes legalizing marijuana. Tens of thousands of mindless possession and low level dealing arrests per year is job security for police officers. Other than that, how is marijuana prohibition a policing matter? There are valid arguments against legalizing marijuana on the basis of health or public safety. However, it’s hard to imagine how legalization affects the quality of policing. I guess pretending to smell marijuana at a traffic stop as a pretext for an unconstitutional search of the car does make for easier police work.

  7. Rowinguy Avatar
    Rowinguy

    Hall has some good ideas, others less so, much like any other group of proposals. DJ has pointed one out immediately above. I was also interested in his take on body cameras, in part because of this passage from the linked article:

    “There were public calls for Roanoke County police to get body cameras after officers fatally shot 18-year-old Kionte Spencer in 2016. Police partially captured the incident on cameras in the police cars. Hall has declined to release the footage, or the names of the officers who shot Spencer.

    Roanoke County’s then-prosecutor said the officers’ actions were justified. The U.S. Department of Justice announced in November 2016 that a probe found no basis for criminal civil rights charges.”

    It just seems strange that two different agencies clear the officers’ actions yet not only does Hall not release the video, he doesn’t identify the officers.

    Also, nothing in that article states. or suggests, that police jobs are going unfilled in Virginia. But, score a rhetorical point for the Chief.

  8. James Wyatt Whitehead V Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead V

    A new Fauquier County Sheriff’s Deputy would make about 41 grand for about 2,000 hours of work. 19 buck on hour. The lengthy list of requirements for employment are staggering. Who would take this job now?

    1. TBill Avatar
      TBill

      Law enforcement is not the only American job progressives vilify to the max. Misery loves company. I do not know where the American progressive philosophy leads us as a Nation, but we may find out soon. I assume, all things must pass, if the Libs screw it up badly enough, there will be a change again.

  9. Matt Hurt Avatar
    Matt Hurt

    The more laws there are to be enforced, the more opportunities for negative interactions between law enforcement and the public. It seems to me that the drug laws are the worst offenders, and we have not stamped out drugs in our hundred year effort. It seems that the cure (the war on drugs) is worse than the disease.

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