Mayor Nickels announces strategy to enhance police accountability and improve police-community relations

July 18, 2002 - Mayor Greg Nickels today launched a comprehensive strategy to increase police accountability and reduce the potential for racial profiling.

Nickels said the strategy was designed to "improve public confidence and trust in our police."

The plan commits to installing digital video cameras in ALL patrol cars, implements a set of actions that collects relevant data on the nature of traffic stops, substantially increases police accountability, and invests in building more meaningful relationships between the police and the communities they serve.

"The goal is simple: increased accountability," said Nickels. "That's important for citizens and police. I'm proud of our police department. They too are proud of their work, they welcome better understanding. Working together, we're going to strengthen trust. Police can't be effective, and our communities can't feel safe, unless police enjoy the trust and confidence of the people we serve."

The Nickels strategy includes:

• Documenting all traffic stops by police officers, even those that don't result in a citation.



• Installing digital cameras in all patrol cars.



• Conducting a valid and reliable survey of city residents every other year to measure attitudes about police interactions.



• Holding forums, hosted by the police department, every quarter in each of the city's precincts to give the public a place to discuss any concerns they might have.



• Review and update the 19 hours of training of recruits focused specifically on racial sensitivity, as well as strengthen the mandatory ongoing training officers receive each year.



• Expanding the Office of Professional Accountability's ability to record and analyze complaints alleging that racially-based policing has occurred.

"We've addressed this issue from multiple perspectives," Nickels said. "We're going to collect and analyze data from several sources, increase public involvement with the police department, put interpretation of data into improved training of our officers, and track our progress. We're going to make Seattle a national leader in this effort."

One key element of the plan is to begin collecting basic data on all traffic stops, not just those that result in a ticket, Nickels said.

"I think we all recognize that we need to understand as accurately as possible what is happening at the point of personal interaction between the police and individuals in the community," Nickels said. "The best way to start that is by documenting each interaction."

Under Nickels' strategy, those who are stopped but not cited will be given a copy of a form that will provide basic data, including the officer's identification number. The Consent Form will be revised to increase information about discretionary searches that might occur. The form will be collected and analyzed along with citations. Moreover, citizens will have an opportunity to see exactly what the officer is reporting and will be able to take issue with it, if they wish.

Nickels said all items of the plan could be implemented with the $200,000 currently set aside in the council-approved budget, except for the adding of video cameras to all police cars. Nickels said the city believes federal funding for the cameras is likely. If the federal funds are not made available, at least 25 cars will be equipped this year. The city will work to equip the remaining cars over the next few years.