October 19, 2008 – ACLU releases the Ayres Report
Dr. Ayres was hired by the ACLU to examine the stop data collected by Los Angeles Police Officers during a one year period between July 2003 and June 2004. Dr. Ian Ayres graduated from Yale University in 1981 with a major in Russian and East European Studies and Economics. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1986 and received a Ph.D in Industrial Organization, Economics from MIT in 1988. Ian Ayres CVI
He issued a 59 page report that found that there was prima facie evidence that African Americans and Hispanics are over-stopped, over-frisked, over-searched, and over arrested. The ACLU wrote a letter to the Police Commission the next day asking that racial profiling investigation protocol be overhauled.
The press picked up the story and soon a debate started in the opinion section of newspapers. Chief Bratton told the press that he found the Ayers Report of “no value.” City News Service Article League President Tim Sands had a critical letter published in the LA Times. Sands Letter to Times Even I had an opinion piece in the Daily Journal. Ingemunson Op Ed
February 24, 2009 – Biased Policing term is born in report to the Police Commission
Biased policing became the term of art. It was a more encompassing term. The Police Commission was updated on the progress of the Department’s efforts to prevent biased policing. The claim is made that “LAPD is becoming a model in identifying and implementing training to address biased policing.” Police Commission News Briefing
March 31, 2009 – The Biased Policing Special Order was published
The order specifically prohibited discriminatory conduct on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or disability in the conduct of law-enforcemnt activities. SO 15 Biased Policing
November 10, 2009 – Inspector General finds flaws in biased policing investigations
The Los Angeles Times reported that the Inspector General (aka “Watchdog”) had problems with 6 out of 20 biased policing investigations in its quarterly discipline report. Internal Affairs commanding officer denied that any of the errors would have had a material effect on the investigations, but the gist of the media coverage was that a third of IA investigations on biased policing were flawed.
January 20, 2010 – The Year End Biased Policing Report for 2009 is issued
The year end biased policing report stated that there were 219 complaints for biased policing. None had been sustained to date. Biased Policing Rpt 2009 What to do?