The Office of Police Complaints published an independent study conducted by the National Policing Institute last week. The report, “A Study of Bias in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s Threat Assessment Process,” evaluated whether or not there was evidence of bias in MPD’s threat assessments for First Amendment Assemblies. The report found no evidence of bias. Chief Robert J. Contee, III expressed his appreciation for the work of the Office of Police Complaints and the National Policing Institute for their thoughtful review and ultimate recommendations in the report.
Acknowledging that MPD responds to assemblies and events in the nation’s Capital at a level that is not experienced by other agencies, the National Policing Institute, funded through the Office of Police Complaints, initially focused on arrests, injuries, and use of force data. The review later expanded to consider MPD policies, procedures, reports; interviews with MPD personnel, comprehensive reviews with subject matter experts, comparisons of MPD’s threat assessment process with other law enforcement agencies, and an analysis of the Civil Disturbance Unit (CDU) manuals using inductive thematic content analysis.
NPI’s wide-ranging analysis and assessment found no indications of bias in the data it reviewed. Similarly, NPI found no indications of bias in the processes used to assess threat in preparation for First Amendment demonstrations in the District. NPI expressed its belief that “MPD follows a threat assessment process that seeks to promote thoughtful, informed, and unbiased assessments.” NPI concluded that MPD’s “threat assessment process is governed by District legislation and informed by years of experience in managing thousands of demonstrations a year.” It held that the “MPD threat assessment process is consistent with the practices found in major city law enforcement agencies” but that MPD’s threat assessment function needed more resources, and offered suggestions for supporting MPD’s dual mandates of “allow[ing] the voices of protestors to be heard, while maintaining public safety in the District of Columbia.”
MPD will review NPI’s recommendations and will continue evaluating our current processes to make sure we maintain best practices to safeguard the District of Columbia and protect its residents and visitors.