US Justice Dept adopts changes to police department monitoring

Garland tells police chiefs association DOJ will work smarter as it seeks reforms of racial patterns, use of force.

United States Attorney General Merrick Garland, the US’s top law enforcement official, said on Monday the Department of Justice would improve its oversight of local police departments following criticism and pushback from police leaders. In a speech to an online conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a group of about 16,000 senior and mid-level police leaders from the US and other nations, Garland acknowledged it is “no secret” that the Department of Justice monitoring of troubled police departments has led to frustrations. Garland announced he had accepted a recommendation for 19 steps the DOJ can take to improve its oversight and monitoring of local departments that have reached agreements with the DOJ to reform their racial patterns and use of force practices.