A new mediation program for resolving complaints against New Orleans Police officers needs the approval of a U.S. District Judge before it can go into place, but offers a new way of handling citizen complaints against officers which could be classed as “minor” conduct violations.  The new program would have any complaints classified as minor be resolved in a face-to-face mediation between the officer and the citizens, and is modeled on programs already in place in New York and Washington, D.C.

The program is reserved solely for complaints that don’t involve any major conduct violations.  The most common examples of what would be handled by mediation involve foul language or “unprofessional behavior.”  Trained mediators – with training paid for under a grant offered by the Department of Justice – would be present to guide the process.

The mediation program would be voluntary for both sides.  Officers would have incentive to engage in this manner because the mediation would end the complaint with no mark on their record which could later impact promotion and salary increases.  In New York and Washington, in fact, most officers agree to participate because it allows them to make their case or to explain themselves.

The new program is also part of an overall response by the NOPD to the Consent Decree issued by the Department of Justice in 2012 that impugned the department’s conduct and organization and ordered changes be made to most policies and conduct rules.  The NOPD has long been considered one of the most corrupt and worst-run police departments of any major city in the U.S.