remove unsubstant-
* iated complaints from police personnel files and limit the time in
which
* a citizen's complaint must be investigated.
*
* Only 4% of complaints are upheld by review boards, and 70% are ruled
* inconclusive. Over time, some officers build up quite a bulk of
complaints
* in their personnel file. Police chiefs oppose the legislations because
it
* could undermine early warning systems for spotting bad officers.
*
* In some states, police unions have begun filing libel suits against
those
* who file police complaints.
*
* The police officers assert that paper trails on complaints can ruin
* law-enforcement careers.
Police are the same bunch of law enforcement personnel who keep extensive
non-criminal notes and allegations on citizenry.
In fact, NYC Police have TWICE been caught using a form marked "for
unofficial
notes, not to be kept with the normal records".
In other words, when the defendant tries to use discovery to get details
of
the police case against them, so they can analyze what happened, these
"offline" notes are how the police withhold the information.
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