AG Garland announces reforms for federal monitors of local police
By Marty Johnson - 09/13/21 12:40 PM EDT
The Justice Department is making a series of changes to how federal monitors — who serve key oversight roles in the agency’s police reform efforts — operate, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday morning.
The country's top prosecutor in a virtual speech to the International Association of Chiefs of Police said the Department of Justice (DOJ) will undertake 19 reforms to modify how monitors go about their business.
“In one of my first acts as Attorney General, I asked Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta to conduct a review of what can be done to ensure that monitorships are independent, highly qualified and free of conflicts of interest,” Garland said.
“With your help,” Garland continued, “the department has found that – while consent decrees and monitorships are important tools to increase transparency and accountability – the department can and should do more to improve their efficiency and efficacy.”
Since March, when Garland was confirmed, the Justice Department has opened pattern-or-practice reviews of police departments in Minneapolis, Louisville and Phoenix.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/571976-ag-garland-announces-federal-monitor-reforms-to-top-police-group
