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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
04/29/2024 05:38 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20230&cosponId=42320
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House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: March 19, 2024 11:55 AM
From: Representative Joseph C. Hohenstein and Rep. Emily Kinkead, Rep. Donna Bullock, Rep. Napoleon J. Nelson
To: All House members
Subject: Transparency in Data Collection
 
Being accountable and being transparent have become synonymous with organizations having a responsibility to maintain the public trust. Transparency can act as a vital tool in fostering both the confidence and the trust of the public. Having transparent business practices can significantly contribute to the public’s perception of an entity’s integrity in addition to the employees thereof. They allow the public to both evaluate and understand the actions of an entity with more clarity. Transparency also ensures accountability. Accountability mechanisms serve to hold both individuals and entities responsible for the consequences of their actions. Thus, having policies related to ensuring accountability helps to generate a culture of responsibility within and among the law enforcement community. Employees and supervisors are held accountable for their good deeds and misdeeds. That accountability serves as a deterrent against the abuses of power and the hiding of misconduct.

Polls show that both respect for and trust in law enforcement is on the decline across the United States. Pennsylvanians should both trust and respect their law enforcement agencies.

This legislation would take major steps to repair that public trust by requiring Law Enforcement agencies to:
  1. Publicize/make publicly available the standard policies and procedures of the entity publicly and share amongst other State law enforcement agencies;
  2. Publicize/make publicly available the settlements of Law Enforcement entities in addition to judgements that may have been levied against it;
  3. Collect information related to all reportable encounters conducted by officers and share that information with the network and the commission which shall then make that information publicly available on its website;
  4. Collect information related to every incident where an officer engaged in a use of force;
  5. Publicize all critical incident reports in addition to the audio or video recordings related thereto;
  6. Collect all complaints received by the law enforcement agency and make them publicly available;
 
Please join us in co-sponsoring this legislation.