Howard Hall
by James A. Bacon
Democrats have gotten plenty of attention for their ideas on how to reform Virginia’s system of law enforcement and criminal justice in the wake of the George Floyd killing and statue-toppling movement. But this article in the Roanoke Times is the first I’ve seen that lays out the thinking of… someone in law enforcement.
Days after the Floyd killing in Minneapolis, Governor Ralph Northam stated publicly that black people have been killed by police because “in America, the color of their skin means that they are treated differently.”
Roanoke County Police Chief Howard Hall felt the Governor was painting police officers as racist. When he had the chance at a gathering of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, he asked Northam twice, “Who in Virginia would want to be a police officer right now?” In Hall’s telling of the story, Northam remained silent.
Hall is critical of many of the proposals advanced by Democratic lawmakers, which he describes as “platitudes that sound nice about social justice and racial equity.”
Lawmakers want to expand the use of body cameras Hall doesn’t oppose body cameras, he just doesn’t think they offer a good return on investment. He’d rather use the money to increase pay and incentivize people to making policing a career. He also opposes legalizing marijuana, reducing assaults on law enforcement officers from a felony to a misdemeanor, and programs that release convicts from prison early.
Among the ideas that the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police are in favor of.
- Fund accreditation of police departments, which requires review of policies, equipment, hiring, training, response to mental health incidents, and bias-based policing. Only 130 of Virginia’s 365 agencies eligible for accreditation have received it.
- Upgrade the process for de-certifying officers convicted of felonies or certain misdemeanors so that an officer fired from one jurisdiction cannot be hired in another. As an example, officers can falsify information and be unfit to testify on the stand, but if fired from one department, can be hired in another.
- Provide funding to give all officers Crisis Intervention Training to respond to people with mental illnesses.
- Invest in a statewide uniform electronic summons system to improve the quality of data collection.
- Do not allow police unions. If police are allowed to join unions, ensure that the unions do not have the ability to intervene in disciplinary matters.
- And, of course, a request by all government employees everywhere, increase salaries to improve recruitment and retention.
