The database was hailed as a model to stop bad officers from hopping from one job to another. But now State Police say legislative changes are needed to make it more effective.
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania database of police personnel records lauded as a national model is riddled with loopholes that raise serious questions about its ability to flag police officers with histories of misconduct, a Spotlight PA review has found.
Legislators and officials from both political parties initially hailed the database as a crucial step toward ensuring police officers with histories of serious wrongdoing don’t bounce from department to department undetected. Consulting the database before hiring is required, but there are “no penalties in the act for non-compliance,” according to State Police. That’s an unusual omission for a law regulating a governmental agency, said David Rudovsky, a civil rights and criminal defense attorney who teaches law at the University of Pennsylvania.
In an interview with Spotlight PA, Shapiro said officials involved in drafting the law never intended to leave out enforcement measures. The more than 1,100 agencies that are participating would likely cover more than 90% of Pennsylvanians, he said.“If you don’t participate, that’s against the law. Could the enforceability provision be strengthened? Maybe, and I would be supportive of that if that’s where the group wants to go.”In May 2020, a bill introduced by state Rep.
As people across the country took to the streets in protest, the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus blocked the state Speaker of the House, then Mike Turzai , from ascending the rostrum and starting session. The bill that passed in June 2020 requires agencies to only publicize decisions to hire candidates who received “final and binding” discipline, meaning an officer either voluntarily accepted a punishment or it went through formal adjudication.In conversations with law enforcement officials, Shapiro said everyone agreed the database should not contain records of every complaint made against an officer because some end up being unfounded.
“They can be hiring a bunch of folks who are equally bad, but whose issues were never resolved,” Rabb said. “They weren’t final and binding. It doesn’t trigger a hiring report. So let’s call them yellow flags, deep yellow flags.”
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