Pubdate: Tue, 25 Jul 2006
Source: USA Today (US)
Section:  Page 2A
Copyright: 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact:  http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Kevin Johnson

NEW REGISTRY WILL IDENTIFY DECERTIFIED POLICE OFFICERS

WASHINGTON -- A national registry of more than 7,000 police officers 
who have been stripped of their law enforcement licenses is being 
readied for use by police agencies throughout the USA to identify 
officers with troubled histories.

The registry, which for the first time would give police agencies 
direct access to a list of decertified officers, is designed to help 
avoid hiring officers ousted from jobs elsewhere.

So far, 20 states are contributing to a computer database being 
assembled by the International Association of Directors of Law 
Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST). The database could be 
ready this fall.

Although there have been no national studies on how often disciplined 
or decertified officers have found work at other departments, the 
database reflects rising concerns about the quality of police recruits.

In Florida, the Broward County Sheriff's Department faces questions 
about its hiring practices in a lawsuit involving Sheriff's Deputy 
Lewis Perry. Perry had left two police jobs in Connecticut after 
conduct complaints were filed against him, court documents show.

He was fired from a third Connecticut agency while under 
investigation for allegedly stalking a girlfriend, court papers say. 
In Broward, Perry has been suspended without pay because he faces 
allegations of misconduct and perjury. A grand jury also is reviewing 
his conduct in a 2004 shooting. Perry's attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, 
says he has not reviewed the Connecticut evidence, but he notes that 
Perry's certification hasn't been revoked.

The new database will flag only officers who have been decertified by 
state accreditation agencies. While more states may sign on, records 
for thousands more ousted officers are under the control of state 
accreditation agencies that have chosen not to share the information 
or are prohibited by law from sharing it. Police agencies in all 
states would be permitted to use the database.

Project director Ray Franklin says incidents of misconduct that don't 
result in decertification could be added as the database expands.

Police officers typically are licensed by state agencies when the 
officers graduate from law enforcement academies. Officers remain 
accredited as long as they meet job standards. When they violate such 
standards, the loss of their law enforcement accreditation is 
supposed to prevent them from working as officers elsewhere. However, 
police departments -- particularly those in different states -- 
historically have not shared such information.

In the past three decades, more than 19,000 officers have been 
stripped of licenses for misconduct, according to a 2005 IADLEST survey.

"Some people view this as kind of like a blacklist," Franklin says. 
"It's really not. It's more like a pointer system, a reference for 
public safety agencies."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman