Philly police made progress in discipline reforms, says report

Philadelphia's police watchdog says fewer officers are getting slaps on the wrist over allegations of serial misconduct.

Driving the news: The number of disciplinary cases resolved with training and counseling dropped more than 40% in 2022, per a new report from the Citizens Police Oversight Commission (CPOC).

• That's an improvement that the agency says shows more officers are being truly held accountable for misconduct.

Catch up fast: The Philadelphia Police Department overhauled its disciplinary system when signing a new labor contract in 2021, following calls for police reform across the nation after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

• Under the changes, CPOC has some sway in disciplinary decisions. In about 10% of cases in 2022, the watchdog agency recommended upgrading charges, and more than half of the time the department agreed.

Flashback: Between 2015 and 2020, CPOC found that more than three-quarters of cases involving alleged "sustained misconduct" against Philly officers were handled with training and counseling instead of more serious consequences.

• CPOC says that's a problem because it's a "non-disciplinary outcome" that was used far too often, including for officers who repeatedly committed serious infractions.
• After the reform overhaul, the Police Department adopted guidelines so officers receive counseling and training in "narrower circumstances," per the report.

The latest: The agency reports that now about 60% of police officers who were accused of repeated misconduct faced disciplinary charges in the more than 270 cases it reviewed last year.

• Philly's police watchdog also forcefully called for the firing of officer Mark Dial, who is charged with murder in the police killing of Eddie Irizarry last month.

What they're saying: CPOC interim executive director Anthony Erace tells Axios the disciplinary system is overburdened and takes too long to resolve cases.

• "You have a system that's trying to move people through instead of trying to achieve just outcomes," he said.

By the numbers: As of January, there was still a backlog of more than 600 disciplinary cases with some listed as "on hold," per the report.

• The average time from complaint to charges is 409 days – down from 463 in 2017.
• That's problematic because more than 2,300 Philadelphians surveyed in 2022 said they were less likely to report misconduct if it'd take more than a year to resolve their cases.

The bottom line: CPOC will continue checking the department and "have a voice" in whoever succeeds outgoing commissioner Danielle Outlaw, Erace tells us.

• "The keys in policy work are process and persuasion," he says. "People don't want to say no to good ideas."