The Policing Project at NYU School of Law has published a new report and toolkit on consent decree monitorships as a resource for monitors, communities, and law enforcement agencies.
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Policing Project at NYU School of Law, with funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, has announced the release of Monitoring Law Enforcement Consent Decrees: An Introduction And Starter Toolkit, a new report providing public guidance on the monitoring of police consent decrees.
The report provides a detailed overview of what court-appointed monitors do and how they do their work, as well as a “starter kit” of specific tools that monitors can use throughout the consent decree implementation process. Drawing from successful practices and lessons learned from prior monitorships, it introduces a set of practical tools — including examples, templates, and practical resources — to help monitors effectively conduct an independent evaluation of law enforcement performance, a vital component of ensuring that decrees produce safer, more effective, and lawful policing.
The toolkit is also a resource for police departments, governments, and communities across the country that are making changes because of a settlement agreement or consent decree – including those involving a state enforcement arm or private entity.
"Consent decree monitors play a key role in ensuring that police departments are held accountable to, and able to meet, standards required by the Constitution and federal law," said Matthew Barge, Senior Policing Fellow at the Policing Project and NYU School of Law and the report’s lead author. "Today's report will empower current and future monitors, as well as police departments, local governments, and impacted communities, with a strong understanding of what a monitor can and does do, as well as a set of tools to help ensure that critical reforms are faithfully and effectively implemented by law enforcement agencies."
A monitor serves as a representative of a court and an independent validator of a jurisdiction’s compliance with a court-approved consent decree following a “pattern or practice” investigation by the United States Department of Justice. The scope of these investigations and subsequent consent decrees is varied, but often includes steps to remedy law enforcement practices found to violate the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment; the Americans with Disabilities Act; and other federal laws.
As the report explains, the role of a monitor is also varied – the appointed individual will assess an agency’s compliance with a consent decree’s requirements on behalf of the court, but will also serve as a technical advisor providing real-time, substantive feedback to the law enforcement agency subject to the decree and will facilitate the consent decree implementation process.
The document provides in-depth guidance not only to individuals who may be interested in or new to consent decree monitoring, but also to jurisdictions who have or may enter into consent decrees and the law enforcement agencies that are or may be subject to decrees.
Read the full report at https://policingproject.org/s/Monitoring-Law-Enforcement-Consent-Decrees.pdf.
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The Policing Project at NYU School of Law promotes public safety through transparency, equity, and democratic engagement. Learn about the Policing Project at www.policingproject.org.