Neighborhood group told of police changes

A vacant chief of police position has delayed the work of reviewing and implementing suggestions made last fall by an independent audit of the Little Rock Police Department, but changes made to the agency’s internal discipline procedures touch on the audit’s findings, the acting chief told a neighborhood group Saturday morning.

The leadership hole has caused police officials to avoid making many large changes without completely halting the review of the 80 suggestions made in the October 2021 audit by CNA, interim chief Crystal YoungHaskins told members of the Coalition of Little Rock Neighborhoods on Saturday morning.

“It wouldn’t be prudent to make a lot of structural changes and then have another leader come in and look at them and change them again,” Haskins said.

Haskins spoke in the place of Assistant Chief Heath Helton, who leads the nine-member task force appointed Nov. 2 by then-chief Keith Humphrey to review the audit’s findings. Helton in January agreed to meet with the coalition and discuss progress, but had a conflict Saturday.

Most of the progress made has to do with how the department disciplines its officers, Haskins said, and stemmed largely from internal discussions by department officials last year before the audit results were presented.

A revised version of what Haskins called a discipline matrix went into effect May 20, she said. It reworks General Order 211, which outlines how potential infractions by officers are investigated and punished within the department.

The first six recommendations in the CNA audit

specifically mention General Order 211, while the seventh suggests that the chief not take such an active role in internal investigations unless necessary.

Changes made were inspired by looking at other departments, Haskins said, such as the New York and Tucson, Ariz., police departments, but also by reviewing the last five years of LRPD administrative investigations.

That review showed them that there was “a range” of decisions made, and they wanted to make sure the investigations were consistent, Haskins said.

The revised rules streamline the disciplinary system, Haskins said, letting officers with the rank of lieutenant or higher make decisions about punishment for minor infractions. Previously, those decisions, including infractions as minor as lost equipment, would have gone all the way up to the chief for approval.

The chief will still have direct say in investigations of major misconduct — they must sign off on any punishment more severe than a twoday suspension, Haskins said.

General Order 211 is available for officers or citizens to view online, Haskins said, meaning they know what to expect when an internal investigation is underway.

“It makes it really fair,” Haskins said.

The task force members are still working on reviewing the other 73 recommendations made by the CNA auditors, Haskins said, with the group meeting at least monthly and possibly bi-weekly.

Neighborhood Coalition members were most focused on the recommendations in the audit that concerned information security, group President Kathy Wells told Haskins. They are concerned that people will not provide anonymous tips to police because they don’t trust officers to protect their identities from backlash.

Department officials do everything possible to protect the identities of those who want to be anonymous, Haskins said, but much of the information is available through the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. She said that they can’t overcome the “hurdles” of “liberal open-records laws.”

“If we want to shield and protect information, it’s got to come from the Legislature,” Haskins said.

However, coalition members are more concerned about the effect of “old-fashioned gossip,” Wells said.

“We have had some leaks in our organization,” Haskins acknowledged. “I don’t know how to handle that, I don’t know how to plug it, other than being the person of integrity that I am,” and holding police staff to that same standard.

Asked about the punishments that officers who leaked sensitive police information could face, Haskins declined to discuss specifics. Department officials want to protect officers’ First Amendment rights to speech, but if they share sensitive information, certain policies and laws could come into effect, she said.

Also Saturday, Haskins said that the Police Department’s computer app is scheduled to officially launch Thursday through third-party vendor AtlasOne. The app, which police officials have teased for months, will allow users to see reports of crime in their geographical area and make reports with police.

These reports can be anonymous, and are encrypted through the vendor to protect tipsters’ identities, Haskins said. Users will be able to submit text, photos and videos that may give police evidence in a crime.

Wells asked Haskins or Helton to meet with the Coalition again in the fall to discuss further work on the audit suggestions, and Haskins said she hoped a new chief would be in place by then. Asked if she would be applying for the full-time chief role, Haskins declined to answer.

The department is undergoing a big transition during the search for a new chief of police, Haskins said. She asked for not only support from the community, but also feedback and criticism on their efforts in Little Rock’s neighborhoods.

“We really need solidarity from the community,” Haskins said. “You don’t like something, tell us about it.”