Details of hidden misconduct raise doubts about discipline within Maine State Police

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Two criminal justice experts reviewed the uncovered misconduct and concluded that many of the punishments were too light for the officers’ misdeeds. The finding would not have been possible by examining the limited information in the agency’s discipline records.

“These are serious violations and serious misconduct. This type of light discipline not only sends a wrong message to the officer involved but to the entire department. It sends a message of relaxed accountability and almost encourages misconduct,” said Maria Haberfeld, a professor and researcher at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York who has spent her career examining police integrity.

While some police departments have a discipline matrix, outlining to officers and the public what range of punishments could apply to various types of misconduct, the state police does not. And while some departments have publicized officer misconduct, the state police does not in order to protect officers’ privacy, Cote said.

Since 2015, the Maine State Police disciplined at least 19 officers. For 12 of them, the record of discipline contained so few details that it was not possible to know what the officers did wrong. The newspapers were able to put together more complete accounts for what seven of the 12 officers did.

https://www.pressherald.com/2021/04/19/details-of-hidden-misconduct-raise-doubts-about-discipline-within-maine-state-police/

[empedocles]

1. Very thick blue line