Monitors Fault Prince Georges County Police Reforms
/The Prince George's County Police Department is struggling to comply with some terms of a federal agreement it signed in January after long-running investigations found systemic abuses within the force, a report concludes. In its initial evaluation of the department's compliance with the agreement, an independent monitoring team found that the agency has been slow to develop general orders, standard operating procedures and department-wide protocols that address the agreement's terms. The eight-member panel, made up mostly of law enforcement officials from across the country, also found disparities in the reporting of use of force by officers. The report, parts of which were made public yesterday, is the first assessment of the pace at which the department implements 67 requirements outlined in the agreement, which was spurred largely by allegations of excessive use of force by officers and alleged civil rights violations. The agreement was a result of a top-to-bottom probe of the 1,200-member force that spanned three police chiefs. The report is to be made available today on the county's Web site, www.goprincegeorges.com. [more
