Protect and Serve? Investigation Finds 1,000 Predator Police Officers – The Takeaway

From Ferguson, Missouri to Baltimore, Maryland, policing across the country has fallen under a microscope over the past year. But today the Associated Press releases part three of a year-long investigation into a rarely discussed issue of policing: Sexual misconduct by law enforcement.

According to the AP’s investigation, over the last six years, at least 1,000 police officers across 41 states were stripped of their badges for offenses like rape, sexual assault, and other sex crimes.

The 41 states examined by the AP all willingly provided this information and participated in the decertification process. The nine remaining states either would not provide information or do not revoke their officers licenses.

While 1,000 officers committing these offenses may not seem like a lot when compared with the nearly 480,000 personnel nationwide, a quarter of the nation’s police officers work in states that do not decertify officers for wrongdoing, like New York and California. For those states, there is little information on these crimes.

Protect and Serve? Investigation Finds 1,000 Predator Police Officers – The Takeaway