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| NEWS > 23 October 2007 |
Other related articles:
India’s ‘Colonial’ Police Weak
India’s 1 million police work in “abysmal conditions” and rely on torture in a corrupt system created by British colonial rulers that undermines law and security, according to the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.
“While India rightly touts itself as an emerging economic powerhouse that is also the world’s largest democracy, its police” forces are “widely regarded within India as lawless, abusive and ineffective,” the New York-based group said in a 118-page report released today.
Senior police officers “are condoning and ordering the illegal arrest, torture and even killin... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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Chicago Sun-Times - United Sta
23 October 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Chicago Police Department, IL
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Risky to share list of accused
Releasing the names of Chicago Police officers most often accused of excessive force would endanger officers and their families, make them potential targets for "baseless lawsuits" and unfairly taint those falsely accused, interim Police Supt. Dana Starks said Monday.
At a City Council budget hearing, Starks said he understands why aldermen are demanding the list. But he's also concerned about the "irreversible ramifications" that releasing the names would trigger.
"Above all, I am concerned about the safety of officers, as well as the safety of their families. ... These police officers have the potential of becoming targets, and their families will suffer even more," Starks said.
He said that in almost 45 percent of the complaints closed against police officers this year, the complainant refused or failed to cooperate with the investigation.
Complaints are generated "by criminals, gang members and drug dealers ... determined to make false allegations ... to discredit the arrest and further their own agenda in court" or by people "who may have resented the fact that they were questioned" by police, Starks told aldermen under questioning.
Monday, 28 aldermen asked U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow to order the names released.
Starks' alternative: annual reports or meetings with aldermen to provide "specific information on allegations" and "pertinent details" of the most serious complaints.
"That would offer transparency, accountability and an opportunity for police and elected officials to work hand in hand" to address patterns of police misconduct, he said.
Ald. Ed Smith (28th) asked Starks what he intends to do about the "strong mistrust against the Police Department" within the African-American community.
Starks made no effort to sugar-coat the damage caused by the cops-as-robbers scandal in the newly disbanded Special Operations Section and by bar brawls involving off-duty officers that hastened the retirement of Police Supt. Phil Cline.
"First of all, we have to admit that the public confidence in the Chicago Police Department is weak -- and we need to take all the steps necessary to strengthen that public confidence," he said.
Starks said he has ordered meetings with officers who have more than five "complaints registered," or C.R., filed against them.
"All of the command and supervisory personnel in that particular district must be aware and must demonstrate to me that they are taking pro-active measures in addressing those police officers with excessive C.R. numbers or with C.R. numbers that need to be looked at that may be evidence of a pattern of improper behavior," he said. " . . . There must be some type of action or recognition on their part to address those problems."
During the four-hour hearing, Starks fielded a variety of comments from aldermen. Questioned on the controversial use of police contact cards -- reports officers fill out after stopping and questioning people -- Starks said an audit is being done on all contact cards.
However, not all of the aldermen's comments were critical. Some suggested that Starks be made the city's next police superintendent.
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