The Denver Police Department has introduced a new policy, shifting the focus from discipline to education for low-level officer infractions. This change comes after over a year of discussions with the city’s oversight body and will cover around 60% to 65% of the department’s misconduct cases.

Education-Based Development

The new method, called Education-Based Development (EBD), will offer educational training as a substitute for formal penalties in many cases. Officers who choose to participate in EBD will receive offense-specific training instead of the penalties required under the current disciplinary matrix.

Police Chief Ron Thomas argues that the changes are necessary to secure faster and more meaningful accountability for misconduct. However, Independent Monitor Liz Pérez Castle sees things differently, stating that rolling back accountability measures goes against city law and community expectations.

Community Response

The new policy has drawn criticism from local advocates, who argue that it is a step back for the community. The survey used to support the new development policy has also been criticized for failing to collect demographic data or addresses, meaning the department has no data on which communities were represented in the survey responses.

Chief Thomas defended the program’s merits, stating that there is still a consequence for officers who participate in EBD, as they will have an infraction on their record. However, Pérez Castle remains concerned that the new policy will allow officers to use EBD for repeat offenses, potentially undermining accountability.

Original reporting: Denverite — read the source article.