Assignment task: How The Baltimore Consent Decree Has Impacted Policing (YouTube)
Congress gave the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) the power to address systemic issues at law enforcement agencies in 1990. This occurred in response to the Rodney King beating by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department. When the DOJ finds that there is evidence of a pattern of misconduct at a law enforcement agency, the consent decree is a federal court order that requires changes within that police department, which are expected to make by a certain date. When the requirements of the consent decree are not met by the stipulated date, there is a reevaluation of the agencies progress and usually the date is extended. The following video clip comes from a newscast on the Baltimore Police Department consent decree. Watch the clip, and then answer the discussion question below.
Question 1: The founders of the American government where concerned with maintaining local political control resulting in policing being run within local and state governments. Is giving the DOJ power to enforce changes in local agencies overstepping this boundary? Explain your reasoning.
Question 2: Do you think that the systemic issues of corruption and abuse of power within these policing agencies would be resolved internally without the power of a consent decree? Why or why not?