A new report applauds somes successes but details failures of the Prince William County Police Department in addressing “racial and social justice” with use of force incidents continuing to be disproportionately directed towards people of color.
In December, a racial and social justice commission presented a long-anticipated report to the Prince William County Board of Supervisors that provided a host of recommendations directed at county government, police, and schools in order to create a more “equitable and inclusive” community. The recent 2020 census revealed that Prince William is now a majority-minority county and the tenth most diverse county in the country.
The report was accepted by the Board earlier this month, but not without some clashing between supervisors about the completeness of the work.
In some areas, the commission applauded the county for its work in addressing racial and social justice. This included government service programs and plans in place to assist people of color, which efforts they called “mainly exceptional.”
However, in policing, the commission notes, there’s considerable work to be done.
The report acknowledges that use of force is “rarely used” by county police, but when it did occur, it was “disproportionately used against Black/African Americans.”
Black/African American residents accounted statistically for about half of the incidents in 2020, while only making up less than a fifth of the county’s population. That demographic also accounted for about 40 percent of arrests.
The racial makeup of traffic stops and vehicle searches are also a concern. From January 1 to June 30, 2021, PWCPD made about 10,300 traffic stops and conducted vehicle searches 140 times. More than a quarter of those searched were Black/African American and 40 percent were Hispanic/Latino, a demographic that only makes up a quarter of the county population.
Additionally, again according to the report, the demographics of the police department “do not reflect the demographics of the county.”
The report did provide at least preliminary recommendations.
This includes the hiring “of an independent contractor to analyze the police department’s use-of-force policies and practices,” who would audit records to make sure the police are “operating within the confines of the law.”
Another one of the report’s recommendations was an independent study to review the probable causes that lead to the 140 vehicle searches (as well as the 101 arrests resulting from those).
In a response to Northern Virginia magazine, PWCPD spokesperson Sergeant Johnathan Perok acknowledged the data and agreed with the report’s recommendations.
“We agree with the RSJC that it would be extremely helpful to have an independent group examine this and attempt to identify the reason or reasons for this disparity [in use of force incidents]. In fact, we are currently pursuing money for such a study with support from Congressmember [Jennifer] Wexton’s office,” Perok wrote in an email.
As for having a police department that reflects the demographic make-up of the county, Perok noted that the PWCPD was already working towards that goal.
“In 2020, the Department proactively partnered with the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) to do a complete review of our recruitment and hiring practices,” Perok said. “Based on this review, we have implemented all recommendations to strengthen this process. Our efforts seem to be paying off as our last graduating class and our current academy class were some of the largest and more diverse we’ve seen in years.”
There was also some community concern regarding school resource officers (SROs) and “disproportionate police [encounters] with Black/African American students.”
A 2019 statewide report that compiled data from 2016 to 2018, found that 63 percent of disorderly conduct complaints made by SROs statewide were against Black/African American students. Prince William County accounted for the highest number of these complaints in the Commonwealth.
The report recommends a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between schools and police that clearly lays out the duties and responsibilities of the SROs, as well as “adequate funding” for training.
Perok says that MOU is “close to completion” and will “outline new expectations for our SROs and will focus primarily on non-criminal intervention and diversion opportunities.”
County leadership is also confident in PWCPD’s ability to address the noted concerns and take the recommendations.
“I commend the transparency of the Prince William County Police Department (PWCPD) and the efforts of the Racial and Social Justice Commission (RSJC) to shed light on areas of growth and opportunity within our county,” Chair-at-Large of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors Ann Wheeler wrote to Northern Virginia magazine in a statement. “Prior to the launch of the RSJC, our police department proactively hired outside consultants to review policies and procedures. I thank the leadership of the PWCPD during my tenure, both past and present, for their unwavering commitment to ensure Prince William County is a welcoming community where all feel safe to live, work, and raise a family.”
The commission’s work is not done, however, with it promising to continue to meet and work into 2022 at the insistence of both political parties. This came after a number of Republican supervisors said the report relied too heavily on anecdotal evidence and more examination was needed.
Feature image Tiko/stock.adobe.com
For more stories like this, subscribe to our Things to Do newsletter.
