Baltimore City Police Have No Quota System

from The League: Reassembled

The verdict is in: no department policy mandates that Baltimore City Police Officers make a certain number of arrests each month.

A task force composed of police leaders, law enforcement union representatives, and Baltimore City Council members found that no quota system was in place. Concerns were raised earlier this year when local television reported that the Police Performance Enhancement Program, which was inititated last year, rated officers based on number of arrests, incarcerations and traffic stops. The task force's conclusion was announced by the Public Safety Subcommittee of the Judiciary and Legislative Investigations Committee with much fanfare at a press conference.

This is good news. Quota systems encourage officers to make arrests when another approach, such as citation or a simple warning, would be more appropriate. Unnecessary arrest adds to the distrust of police by many community members and also takes up time that could be better spent protecting neighborhoods from those who actually deserve to be arrested.

from The League: Reassembled with revisions