PR Police Reform: PRPD needs spirit and workforce transplantation - by Mike Nova | PR Political Status Issues

PRPD needs spirit and workforce transplantation. 

I would like to share some thoughts on Puerto Rico Police Reform.

Any reform, any social policy, any social intervention depends first of all on the people who perform them, on their spirit, mentality, inner strength, intelligence, commitment and dedication. Without it, I am afraid, these reform efforts might turn out to be ineffective or stillborn, abortative; incomplete, more on the paper than in life. I have no reasons to question these qualities in persons who are and will be at the helm of this reform, and I am sure they possess them sufficiently. But spirit lives not only in the heads, but also in the bodies, and maybe more importantly so. And this is not to say that the majority of PR police officers are "bad" or unfit; not at all. Most of them, I think are good and earnest. The problem, again, might be in a historically formed institutional culture. To interpret President Clinton's thoughts about "clean energy" somewhat symbolically, we might say that the island would benefit from clean spiritual energy and from cleansing this energy from various untoward factors.

I have no knowledge, experience or expertise in police work or police reforms and my thoughts are based just on some more or less random, occasional observations.

I think that PRPD reform efforts would benefit from gradual but constant influx of young, talented, dedicated, professional, "upward mobile", some of the best police officers of Puerto Rican descent from the mainland. They will bring the spirit of America, their biculturality, bilinguality, skills, professionalism, experience and dedication and in the end this might make the whole difference and lead to truly successful reform. Major American cities with significant Puerto Rican populations and their police departments should enter into informal partnerships with PRPD and help it manage and accomplish the reform. Police officers - Boricuas (if you do or do not identify yourselves as such, it is always both American and Boricua),  and, of course not only you, but any good police officers of any descent, who want to move and to work in Puerto Rico: the Island needs your help, your brothers need your help! The economic incentives should be created for this group of police officers, with the special fund of public and private money to facilitate these moves, the pay should be comparable or the same, the opportunities for on-work education and professional growth for young (or any age) police officers, both the islanders and newcomers, should be thought out, developed and presented, the promotions should be based strictly on merit and good service, without nepotism, cronyism and without any interference of political factors. They will intermingle and enrich each other culturally and professionally and will create a new professional culture of practically the new institution.

I think that another important factor to consider is the present structure, role and function of PRPD, and also its history, which undoubtedly shaped the department.

Puerto Rico Police was established originally as a "quasi-military force" and remained so (in spirit and letter) until 1980 -1990s. It has several investigative departments, some of which we know, and others (including their functions and actions) we do not know or do not know that well. Overall, it appears to be quite "opaque", at least to the public. Its functions range from criminal investigations to Drugs division (which interestingly enough includes the so called "Vice Unit" - who could think that such a "unit" still exists anywhere on the territory of the US!), SWAT teams, "security and protection office" and many others. These various investigative departments and various functions (again known and unknown to us) make PRPD too and unduly powerful, and therefore prone to arrogance and self-perception of omnipotence and impunity. PRPD has and uses very elaborate system of informers and knows practically everything about everyone. They parallel and duplicate the roles and functions of the local equivalent of the FBI (Puerto Rico Special Investigations Bureau of the Puerto Rico Department of Justice) and the local Puerto Rico branch of the federal FBI, if I understand and form my impressions correctly. I wonder if this is one of the main differences between PRPD and police departments in major American cities. And if I do not understand this aspect correctly, please inform us and give us the correct, informative, true and comprehensive picture.

I think (and, again, I am not a specialist in these matters at all), this is a very important point which might have deep implications on PRPD present status and its potential for abuse and also, and very importantly, on the course of its reform.

It would be only logical to assume that PRPD should deal primarily and first of all with community policing and criminal investigations, its other functions and roles should be delegated and assumed by the PR branch of federal FBI (its parallels and duplication of services with the local DOJ SIB - Special Investigations Bureau is also troubling and opens a bunch of questions). Duplication and unavoidable competition in services can be counterproductive and I think should be avoided and gradually eliminated.

One of the most troubling aspects, it seems to me, is PRPD vulnerability in counterintelligence matters, due to PRPD enormous reach and power and its undeniably lax attitudes and proneness to corruption, which opens the back door to all sort of undesirable attempts and influences, especially given Puerto Rico's unique place and role in the Caribbean and its attraction to the major intelligence services as the major intelligence hub.

I do not think that there is anything wrong in open and public discussions of these very important issues. Again, if any of my impressions (as a lay person in these matters) raise objections or produce agreements or disagreements, do not hesitate to share them in your comments in any form.

Michael Novakhov

Links and References

» Agreement Is Reached on Police Reforms in Puerto Rico - New York Times
18/07/13 00:26 from alejandro garcia padilla - Google News
Agreement Is Reached on Police Reforms in Puerto RicoNew York TimesIts implementation was delayed to give the new governor, Alejandro García Padilla, time to review it and it is subject to approval by Judge Gustavo Gelpi of Federal District...

Puerto Rico police reform - GS 

Montreal Gazette

Puerto Rico reaches pact with Justice Dept. to reform police GlobalPost-Jul 17, 2013Share In addition, the agreement guarantees the establishment of internal controls ... The U.S. government, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the PRPD will ... The agreement comes after the Civil RightsDivision of the Justice ... In addition, it points to a high level of corruption in the island's security forces, ...

prpd doj agreement - GS

AGREEMENT FOR THE SUSTAINABLE REFORM OF THE PUERTO RICO POLICE DEPARTMENT

Investigation of the Puerto Rico Police Department - United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division - September 5, 2011 

Puerto Rico Police - From Wikipedia 

Puerto Rico Police Reform - News Review 

Law, Order and Crimes in Puerto Rico - News and Blogs Review 

Puerto Rico police department hit with new civil rights lawsuit - Reuters | Gobierno federal demanda a la Policía por discrimen racial

puerto rico bureau of special investigations - GS

Political Persecution in Puerto Rico: Uncovering Secret Files - Materials for the topic of Puerto Rico Police Reform

The FBI Files on Puerto Ricans - Research Foundation of the City University of New York (CUNY) and The Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro)

puerto rico special investigations bureau - GS

negociado de investigaciones especiales (nie) - GS

investigation of the puerto rico police department - GS

Intelligence Division of the Puerto Rico Police - GS

Division of Internal Security of the Puerto Rico Police - GS

prpd strategic operations department - GS

puerto rico police department website - GS

Policia de P.R.

www.policia.gobierno.pr/‎ 

» Washington and P.R. to sign pact Wednesday
18/07/13 17:26 from Caribbean Business - More Local News
Washington and P.R. to sign pact WednesdayIssued: July 15, 2013 U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and representatives from Puerto Rico are slated to sign an agreement in San Juan Wednesday which will put teeth into...

» Esencial la participación ciudadana en la Reforma de la Policía
18/07/13 16:47 from Primera Hora : Noticias
West se reunió hoy con los directores de las 13 áreas de la Policía Estatal junto al superintendente, Héctor M. Pesquera. 

» Justice Department, Puerto Rico Sign Agreement to Reform Police
18/07/13 13:38 from Puerto Rico Newswire
... victim of excessive force, illegal raids and seizures and systematic discrimination on the part of the police," Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said during the ceremony. The conditions of the agreement, the governor said, are...

» Puerto Rico’s Police Force Considers Reforms - Puerto Rico Report - Posted on January 4, 2013
18/07/13 13:13 from PUERTO RICO NEWS
Puerto Rico’s Police Force Considers ReformsThursday July 18th, 2013 at 12:11 PMPuerto Rico Report1 SharePuerto Rico’s police force is the second largest in U.S. states and territories, second in size only to that of New York City...

» DHS to expand ‘Operation Caribbean Resilience’ in Puerto Rico - Fri, 2013-07-12 05:39 PM
18/07/13 13:07 from PUERTO RICO NEWS
DHS to expand ‘Operation Caribbean Resilience’ in Puerto RicoFri, 2013-07-12 05:39 PMAs part of its continued commitment to public safety in Puerto Rico, DHS will expand Operation Caribbean Resilience. The operation, which focuses...

» A Department of Justice Report on the Puerto Rico Police Department Reveals an 'Agency in Profound Disrepair' - Published Oct. 29, 2012.
18/07/13 12:51 from PUERTO RICO NEWS
A Department of Justice Report on the Puerto Rico Police Department Reveals an 'Agency in Profound Disrepair'Joel Féliz de Jesus shows the scars on his abdomen following emergency surgery from blunt trauma to his internal organs allegedly i...

» Holder announces plan to curb abuse in Puerto Rico's police force - Reuters
18/07/13 12:26 from PUERTO RICO NEWS
Holder announces plan to curb abuse in Puerto Rico's police forceU.S. Attorney General Eric Holder speaks at the NAACP convention in Orlando (David Manning Reuters, / July 16, 2013)Reuters 6:31 p.m. EDT, July 1...

» Agreement Is Reached on Police Reforms in Puerto Rico - NYT | Agreement announced to reform Puerto Rico's police force - CNN
18/07/13 09:05 from PUERTO RICO NEWS
July 17, 2013Agreement Is Reached on Police Reforms in Puerto RicoBy LIZETTE ALVAREZThe government of Puerto Rico and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights division on Wednesday formalized a sweeping agreement meant to overcome a histo...

» US, Puerto Rico Sign Deal to Reform Police Agency By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Agreement Is Reached on Police Reforms in Puerto Rico - NYT | Agreement announced to reform Puerto Rico's police force - CNN | ACLU: “Esperamos que los puertorriqueños no tengan 
18/07/13 09:05 from PUERTO RICO NEWS
July 17, 2013Agreement Is Reached on Police Reforms in Puerto RicoBy LIZETTE ALVAREZThe government of Puerto Rico and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights division on Wednesday formalized a sweeping agreement meant to overcome a histo...

» Agreement announced to reform Puerto Rico's police force
18/07/13 09:05 from PUERTO RICO NEWS
Agreement announced to reform Puerto Rico's police forceBy Carol Cratty, CNNJuly 18, 2013 -- Updated 0010 GMT (0810 HKT)A statue of Juan Ponce de Leon sits in front of the second oldest church in the world in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico....

» Agreement announced to reform Puerto Rico's police force - CNN International
18/07/13 04:31 from puerto rico - Google News
Edmonton JournalAgreement announced to reform Puerto Rico's police forceCNN International(CNN) -- The Justice Department and Puerto Rico signed a major civil rights agreement Wednesday to reform the commonwealth's very troubled poli...

DOJ reaches agreement with Puerto Rico police

Full story: Jurist

Speaking in San Juan, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the details [press conference] of the agreement, which include creating a new task force, supported by 26 local task force officers, to enhance gun and drug interdiction efforts on the island.

» PR Police Reform: PRPD needs spirit and workforce transplantation - by Mike Nova | PR Political Status Issues
18/07/13 18:23 from PUERTO RICO NEWS
PRPD needs spirit and workforce transplantation. I would like to share some thoughts on Puerto Rico Police Reform.Any reform, any social policy, any social intervention depends first of all on people who perform them, on their spirit, ...


First Published on 7.18.13   Last Update on 7.24.13