Watchdog: Unresolved Philly police misconduct allegations
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Philadelphia's police watchdog found that more than 130 allegations of officer misconduct went unaddressed by police investigators in cases it audited.
Why it matters: The agency says the rate of unresolved allegations is a "cause of concern," impacting public trust and the Police Department's ability to track officer discipline.
Driving the news: The Citizens Police Oversight Commission found PPD's internal affairs investigators failed to address some misconduct allegations in about a fifth of the 250 cases it received from March-June 2022.
- More than two-thirds of those allegations involved complaints of officers violating department regulations or failing to provide service, per the audit.
How it works: CPOC obtained and reviewed investigative memos and examined those outcomes for "quality, thoroughness and objectivity."
By the numbers: The audit, released last week, covered more than 650 allegations involving 479 officers.
- The 15th, 18th, 24th and 25th districts — the latter two covering Kensington — had the most misconduct complaints, per the audit.
Zoom in: While CPOC found most investigations were done thoroughly and came to logical conclusions, about 20% of the time investigators didn't identify, find and speak to "all civilian parties, including potential witnesses" as required by department policy.
Plus: Only a quarter of the audited internal affairs investigations were completed within the required 90-day timeline.
- CPOC says investigators failed to explain lags in 39% of those cases.
The bottom line: The agency called the findings "informative" but stopped short of making recommendations to Philly police for improving problems identified by the audit.