Protests Spur Police Reform Measures In Prince George’s County

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — After months of Black Lives Matter protests and the death of an unarmed man, Prince George's County announced sweeping police reform. The new policies will make police records more public, increase officer oversight and emphasize community engagement. County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced the changes at a Friday afternoon press conference.

Her overhaul started in July of 2020, when she created the Police Reform Work Group. The task force responded to protesters calling for social justice after George Floyd, a Black man, died while a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck last May.

By December, the reform committee recommended 50 modifications to the Prince George's County Police Department. Alsobrooks adopted 35 as written, amended 11 and struck four.

“I am confident that the reforms we are implementing today will help our Police Department better serve the community and become a model for the nation,” Alsobrooks said in a press release.

The full list of policy changes is posted at this link. Here is the written summary that Alsobrooks included in her release:

"Community Engagement

• The County will be making changes to reform the way law enforcement engages with the community by investing in mental health programs and restorative approaches to student discipline to help dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline.
• The County will overhaul the Crisis Response System to better support mental health/crisis intervention, helping keep residents suffering with mental illnesses out of jail and providing them with the opportunity to get help.
• The County will build out the Police Department’s Community Services Division and hire a civilian Community Services Director.

Employee Recruitment and Retention

• The County will establish a fair, balanced, and robust hiring process that will recruit qualified diverse individuals.
• The County will create an incentive for current officers to live in the County and invest in the mental and physical well-being of PGPD officers.

Financial Management

• The County will work to reimagine PGPD’s budget to effectively deliver public safety reforms that the community deserves.
• The County will continue to review and conduct an annual financial audit of all payouts, lawsuits, settlements, and fines related to PGPD while improving accessibility to the budget process and arbitration hearing records.

Independent Oversight, Compliance, and Integrity

• The County will establish an Office of Integrity and Compliance where the Inspector General will serve as the Director, and the Inspector General’s Office will be moved out of the Police Department. The Office will also hire a Race & Gender Equity Director.
• The County will create a more robust and equitable Citizen Complaint Oversight Panel (CCOP).
• The County will pursue and acquire the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) Certification, which is the gold standard in public safety certification for community-oriented policing.

Internal Policies and Regulation

• The County will establish a public data dashboard that will create additional transparency around traffic stops and subsequent actions taken by police officers, no-knock and night-time search warrants, and the use of flash bangs and other such equipment.
• The County will work to improve access and operations of all PGPD cameras.
• The County will establish a robust customer service campaign in PGPD."

Prince George's Police Lawsuit

Last September, Prince George's County settled its own police lawsuit. The county paid $20 million to the family of William Howard Green, an unarmed man who police said was fatally shot by an officer in January of 2020. Green was 43.

Corporal Michael Owen Jr. shot Green while he was handcuffed in the front seat of a police cruiser, PGPD alleged. Green and Owen are both Black men, according to court documents.

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