The disciplinary process for Philadelphia police officers who are subjects of citizen complaints is becoming more thorough, according to a new report from the Citizens Police Oversight Commission.
The document lays out protocol changes related to the Police Board of Inquiry (PBI), which is the panel that decides what, if any, discipline officers receive after a citizen files a complaint related to lack of service, verbal abuse, or other areas of misconduct.
Of the 25 recommendations that the commission made in June 2021, PPD has implemented 10, according to the new report. The rest are in progress or on hold.
The implemented changes include:
A member of the oversight commission now sits on the PBI panel, instead of just officers.
Training and counseling can only be used in place of discipline for certain charges.
Oversight commission staff are now reviewing all disciplinary charges.
An attorney outside of PPD will prosecute disciplinary charges, rather than an internal representative.
Only about a quarter of misconduct allegations filed between 2015 and 2020 resulted in discipline, and 76% were resolved with training and counseling, according to the report.