Criminal Justice Quality Control Paralegal

THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE QUALITY CONTROL PARALEGAL (CJQCP)
(TO SERVE, PROTECT, MONITOR AND EDUCATE)

For the last 25 years an astonishing number of police departments all over the nation have been in the news indicating that department procedures were not being followed, that they were unable to serve the public as they should, and that violations of law have occurred. The first thing that happens of course is the firing of the chief, then hiring a new one who may not be immediately accepted, and internal problems continue. The new chief is overwhelmed with responsibilities and is expected to work miracles in a very short time.

What is really happening here is what I call “procedural drift”. Slowly over a period of time, noncompliance to policy and procedure becomes commonplace until the situation is out of hand. Because this happens slowly, the cumulative impact of noncompliance is not clearly noticed until too late. This is exactly what I have found throughout my 26 years as a quality assurance professional in the aerospace industry.

In order to correct this problem, I indoctrinated set periodic audits of all policies, procedures and department areas to identify and correct non-compliances early before they had an impact on aircraft flight safety. This procedure was designed for the same purpose, and although the CJQCP was initially designed for the police department, this same philosophy and procedure can be used in all criminal justice professions. (The FBI might want to turn one eye this way).

In relation to violations of law, and knowing that the majority of police officers have a very limited law education during P.O.S.T, I have factored in the paralegal for legal assistance and guidance. Paralegals excel in understanding the law, the precedents and decisions of the courts, have extreme research capabilities, can interact with attorneys and judges at their level and are dedicated professionals that can be a great asset.

I will first provide a basic outline of what the CJQCP will be responsible for and then go into more detail on each item. Generally accepted terminology will be used due to differences in police stations across the country.

CJQCP RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Audit a section of policy/procedure and/or physical area weekly.
2. Follow cases to determine impact of motions to suppress evidence, decisions of the courts and jury’s, constitutional issues and final outcome of the cases and report results to arresting officer(s).
3. Conduct short, to the point classes on law, crime scene securing procedures, chain of custody and recent changes in state and federal law.
4. Contact judges and attorneys on decisions in relation to specific issues and cases then report reasons for such decisions back to the department.
5. Perform trend analysis on criminal activity and fill out state and federal reporting forms. Track sex offenders and drug forfeitures.
6. Assist officers with arrest reports on intricate/emotional cases asking questions that both prosecution and defense attorney’s will ask in a court of law while memory is fresh.
7. Provide assistance to management, officers and support personnel as directed.

* In relation to item 1, the audit will consist of each written policy and procedure, evidence lab/booking area, proper document filing, log book entries, holding cells, vehicles, training requirements, certifications and re-certifications and any other areas deemed appropriate by management. The auditor will make an item-by-item check list for each policy/procedure requirement and area, then note compliance or noncompliance for each item on the check list noting exactly why each does not comply. The completed audit is given to designated personnel assigned corrective action responsibility. The area(s) are then re-audited after all corrective action is completed.

*Item 2. Motions to suppress evidence signals potential disaster in the prosecution of the defendant, and raises questions not only on constitutional violations but also policy/procedure noncompliance. The CJQCP will follow cases and determine what evidence has been suppressed and why suppression was allowed by the court. The reasons for allowing suppression or denial of suppression request, along with the governing code/precedent can then be communicated to the officer(s) involved to initiate an understanding of actions and consequences. An ongoing learning curve is what we are after here.

Many times an officer will see a previous arrestee on the street thinking they were still incarcerated. By communicating the decisions of the court, jury, prosecution and final outcome of the case, whether by jury or bench trial, the officer(s) will have a better understanding of the totality of the system and how their actions affect a particular case and future cases. This will also assist the department in determining the appropriateness of departmental policy and procedure and effectively expedite ongoing refinement.

*Item 3 will consist of short, to the point classes on laws affecting previous cases, new laws enacted, appellate and Supreme Court decisions, crime scene securing and evidence preserving, questions of law brought up by department personnel and other issues of law management feels need to communicate.

*Item 4 involves direct communication with judges and attorneys involved in cases initiated by department arrests to obtain information on specific issues management feels is of greatest importance to the department. It is important for the CJQCP to form a trusting camaraderie with judges and attorney’s so information flows freely. The CJQCP can also interface with CSI on particular instances management deems important. The information obtained can then be delivered in short classes, memos, bulletin boards as directed.

*Item 5 requires daily compilation of data to establish trends of crime by area, type of crime, intensity, types of offenders, time of crime and any other trend management wants to follow closely. This person will also document sex offenders, control drug forfeitures and perform any other local, state and federal reporting data requirements management directs.

*Item 6 requires the CJQCP to assist officers with arrest reports as management directs, typically extremely emotional/technical and politically sensitive arrests. While doing so the CJQCP can ask questions an attorney would ask thus documenting specifics while they are still fresh in mind.

* Item 7 will be performed as directed by management for the benefit of the department in relation to the realm of responsibilities of the CJQCP.

As the audits progress and information accumulates it will be noticed that there are items of concern that are not documented in policy or procedure. Management can use this information to continually update and refine the system adding them to the checklist for future audits ensuring continued compliance.

The O.J. trial, and many others, have brought about many questions concerning chain of custody, contamination of evidence, sources of evidence, cleanliness of labs/processing/temporary holding cell areas and documentation of compliance to or the lack of written instructions which allows doubt to enter each jurors mind. Logbooks that document sources and chain of custody and areas were cleaned before and after processing will give the jury peace of mind on contamination concerns and the exact origins of evidence.

Although there are many different ways to perform audits all have the same philosophy. The best and easiest is the simple checklist method where you read a procedure, pick out specific requirements and add to them to a checklist. From the checklist, audit an area for these specific items against the requirement.

During audits, items of concern not on the checklist, are simply added to the checklist ensuring a continuing evolutionary process. There are many instruction tapes, booklets, college classes and private firms that specialize in training auditors that can be utilized to get started or refine auditing techniques. These types of instruction will assist in getting started with the internal audit process.

It is important to state that the CJQCP is a part of the police force team yet removed enough to be objective and not as intimidating as internal affairs. This position can take some of the workload off others so they can concentrate on their responsibilities at the same time spreading the discipline evenly instead of from one or two management sources. We all know that the police operate on impossible budgets but the many tasks this position performs may justify the expenditure. Close proximity police departments could share the cost of the CJQCP then both could share the information and training.

It is common knowledge that defense attorneys lay in wait to ridicule the police department and its officers in court for the minutest noncompliance of policy/procedure and will make such Mount Everest from an anthill in court. This procedure was specifically designed to assist in ensuring justice is served, to ensure compliance to the intent of the constitution and to counteract the moves of council for the defense. If a police department has policy/procedure sufficiency and follows them, the court and jury will be comfortable siding with the department and its officers, and the chance of criminal or civil action will be greatly reduced. Utilizing aerospace quality assurance philosophy can greatly reduce the above noted actions and enhance police operations.

The education and experience requirements for this position is for each police department to determine. The optimum requirements would be a paralegal diploma, and 2 or 4year criminal justice diploma along with training and experience as an auditor. A law graduate with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice who prefers not to work for a law firm would also work well for the larger police departments.

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Fella Management System
6088
LAYTON, UT 84041-6688 US