Massachusetts should make police discipline records public

Massachusetts state legislators should pass laws to require that the results of internal complaints against police officers, such as complaints of police brutality and false arrest, become public. Currently, Maryland is considering such a bill. Howard is quoted in this article about the bills being considered by Maryland lawmakers: Maryland General Assembly considers policing reforms. This conversation in Maryland is propelled by the 2018 death of teenager Anton Black in police custody. The article describes how making police discipline records public would increase transparency and accountability for police departments.

In order for the public to have faith in the police disciplinary system, unsustained complaints should also be public. Most complaints are unsustained because police departments rarely accept the word of a civilian over that of a police officer. But police experts know that a pattern of unsustained complaints can be a signal that the police officer needs to change their behavior.