Police Corruption in D.C.

Article hot off the presses re the police corruption problem in D.C. Police.

"Samuel Walker, a criminal justice professor
emeritus at the University of Nebraska who specializes in police
accountability, said he was astonished by the sheer numbers of D.C.
police officers arrested and the level of criminality.



The arrests raise questions about the
recruiting, the screening, and the disciplinary process, Walker said.
Bad conduct appears when there's an absence of accountability and
there's a sense that the officers can get away with it, he said.

He
found the news particular alarming in light of the fact that the
Metropolitan Police Department had enacted a number of reforms after the
U.S. Department of Justice investigated allegations police shootings
and of excessive use of force.

"That should have taken care of a lot of these things. You have to ask, what has happened?," Walker said.

Lanier said the comparison of the D.C. police department to New Orleans was "ridiculous."

"I am confident that there is not wide-spread corruption across the police department," {P.D. Chief  Cathy] Lanier said. 





It all starts at the top, Cathy. And D.C. thought handguns in people's homes were the problem.