A 50-page report released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services determined that reforms within the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department resulted in “meaningful and sustained change."
The report, Assessment of the Collaborative Reform Initiative in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department: A Catalyst for Change, took an in-depth look at the long-term impact of the Collaborative Reform Initiative, which began in February 2012.
The report highlighted areas of improved progress toward verbal and tactical de-escalation techniques, community engagement and increased transparency and information sharing on officer-involved shootings.
It also credited strong leadership under two sheriffs as a critical factor in moving the agency forward. Those changes included putting systems in place to create a stronger review of shootings, changing policy, training, and operations that supported reform efforts.
LVMPD was the first law enforcement agency in the country to take part in the inaugural collaborative reform process.
Since then, LVMPD had a 36 percent reduction from 25 officer-involved shootings in 2010 to 16 in 2015. While the report covers 2010-2015, numbers went down in 2016 to 10.
The agency has outfitted 1,624 officers with body-worn cameras that have recorded more than 1 million interactions.
Other reforms include the creation of the Office of Internal Oversight to review shootings independently of the homicide unit, improved community participation through the Multi-Cultural Affairs Committee and created the Office of Community Engagement.
