A new initiative launched by the New York City Police Department seeks to change how police officers record and investigate the use of force by and against officers. NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said that officers will henceforth have to put on record every instance in which they use force as well as anytime someone uses force against them.
"Where we are going is where American policing is going. This is not just one policy and procedure. It is part of the total re-engineering of the department that we have been engaged in," Bratton said, according to USA Today.
Bratton hopes that the "state-of-the-art policies," which come into force in January, will, while educating and empowering the public, also "significantly reduce" the use of force by and against officers.
Explaining the need for a revamp of the current system, Bratton said, "We are one of the few in government that have the power, the authority to take a life, to take people into custody, to deprive them of their liberty. So that sanctity of life, that respect for life has to be paramount in any police organization," reported The Wall Street Journal.
Elucidating further, Kevin Ward, Bratton's chief of staff, said that the new policy requires documentation on a single use-of-force form of every instance of force. "If somebody sees excessive force, there's going to be a duty to intervene in that excessive force. If an officer is using excessive force, the other officers have to prevent him, stop him, pull him away from that situation and then report it," Ward said.
Force will be measured in three levels as per the new norms. Level one will be hand strikes, kicks and the use of pepper spray or takedowns; level two will involve the use of batons and Tasers while level three will involve firearms.
"The deficiencies in this department were significant. (There were) a lack of policies in this area," Bratton said. Thee policy was required, as in the current scheme of things, police officers are not required to fill out reports if force is used on someone who isn't arrested. There is also no comprehensive method right now for tracking the use of force, reported the New York Daily News.
