POST Commission Update

Standards For Both Agencies and Officers Now In Development

The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission is currently embarked in a historic effort to make Massachusetts the first state in the nation to establish mandatory standards for both police agencies and law enforcement officers. The Massachusetts Association for Professional Law Enforcement has successfully positioned itself to offer input on both initiatives.

​Last week POST invited MAPLE to offer recommendations on a proposed 555 CMR 12.00 regarding agency certification. Initial review of the draft revealed several concerns.  Under the proposed regulation personnel files will be required for all sworn officers in a department.   The draft would require the files to contain information of any interviews conducted of an officer by the department, a record reflecting any complaints made against and officer, to include district attorney “Brady list’designations. The draft would also create a very formalized documentary exchange system.  POST would be authorized to direct outside agencies to do audits of police departments.  Additionally, the draft imposes strict liability on agencies forfailure to comply certification requirements, which can result in fines to the department or suspension of an agencies authority.

​MAPLE offered recommendations that would exempt all “Letters of Counseling” issued by immediate supervisors to officers concerning performance improvement from being included in the personnel file. All complaints filed against officers should be classified according to four criteria: exonerated, unfounded, not sustained and sustained.  After three years all unfounded and un-sustained complaints would be purged from an officer’s file.  MAPLE recommended that “Brady list” information be excluded from placement in a personnel. The Brady list designations are a controversial policy instituted by District Attorneys that may lack proper investigation and due process safeguards.  MAPLE is calling for any complaints regarding truthfulness involving a police officers’ testimony to be referred directly to the POST Commission for investigation by either by the appointing agency or the commission, thereby removing District Attorneys completely from the process.

Recommendations have also been offered to reduce the amount of mandated information in the personnel files. Much of this information as currently proposed is irrelevant and cumbersome.  Objections were also raised regarding authority to delegate POST audit duties to outside agencies.  MAPLE maintains that such delegation may exceed POST’s authority. MAPLE recommends that POST should jealously guard their authority.  With regard to punitive action against Police agencies for failures to comply with audit demands, MAPLE has suggested that a willful or negligence standard be adopted as a predicate for punitive action.  The draft, as written, would impose a strict liability standard for such failures.