The Secure DC Omnibus bill, or the “crimnibus” will strip essential protections that ensure transparency and oversight over MPD in DC. This raises key questions like what is MPD trying to hide from the public and why? Maintaining public oversight of the police is crucial to public safety and accountability. MPD should not be the sole arbiter of what the public knows about police conduct.

District residents deserve to know about police violence and misconduct so we can protect ourselves against abuses of power. Today, we are asking you to call and email the DC Council asking them to reject every change in the crimnibus that curtails transparency and oversight over MPD. Scroll to learn more about the provisions, why they are bad, and what the Council should do instead.

Sample script:

Ideally call all 13 members. But if you can’t, prioritize calling your Ward’s Councilmember, the Chairman, and the at-large members! Remember to mention that you are a DC resident and/or a resident of that councilmember’s ward. Use the whole script or use just a section of it to leave a message on a issue you want to highlight!

Hi, My name is _____, and I am calling to ask you to REJECT the provisions in the Secure DC Omnibus that curtail transparency and oversight over MPD. Secure DC will require the Office of Police Complaints to redact the names of officers mentioned in MPD documents, thereby allowing cops who are reported for misconduct to bypass accountability. It will also no longer require OPC to maintain a public database of sustained police misconduct and resulting discipline. This database doesn’t even exist yet because it hasn’t been funded, so how does it make sense to get rid of it before we even know if it's effective? Councilmember, please reject all provisions that curtail OPC and the public’s access to information on MPD officers, reported misconduct, and resulting discipline!

Secure DC will also allow the redaction of officers’ identities from body-worn camera footage released to the public. Body-worn camera footage is often the fastest, most accessible method the public has to obtain officers’ identities and hold them accountable. It will also allow police to view body-worn camera footage before writing initial reports in some cases which will make it easier for police to lie. Councilmember, please reject all provisions that undermine the purpose of body-worn cameras, which is transparency!

Secure DC will severely restrict the public’s access to police disciplinary records and remove police names and badge numbers from adverse action hearing notices, which are essential to our ability to identify patterns of misconduct and hold police accountable. MPD should NOT get to unilaterally decide what the public learns about police misconduct and abuse. The Council should protect public access to ALL MPD disciplinary records and information about adverse action hearings.

The provisions in Secure DC raise key questions — what is MPD trying to hide from the public and why? District residents deserve to know about police violence and other misconduct so we can protect ourselves against their abuses of power. Councilmember, can I count on you to REJECT the provisions in Secure DC that curtail transparency and oversight over MPD?

Phone numbers:

If you can, please call all 13 councilmembers. But if you can’t, prioritize calling your Ward’s Councilmember, the Chairman, and the At-large members! Remember to mention that you are a DC resident and/or a resident of that councilmember’s ward. Don’t know what Ward you’re in? Find out here.

Learn more:

Office of Police Complaints (OPC)

• The crimnibus will require OPC to redact the names of any cops mentioned in documents provided by MPD and remove cops’ rank and length of employment from their police misconduct database.
  • This will allow cops to bypass accountability by preventing the Council and the public from knowing which cops have been reported for misconduct, even when the OPC determines the information should be released.
• It also will no longer require OPC to maintain a public database of sustained police misconduct and resulting discipline.
  • This will severely limit oversight over MPD and the ability of the public to hold police accountable for misconduct and abuse. Note: This database doesn’t even exist yet because Mayor Bowser refused to fund it.
  • DC Council should strike ALL provisions that curtail OPC and the public’s access to information on MPD cops, reported misconduct, and resulting discipline.

Body Worn Cameras (BWC)

• The crimnibus will permit the redaction of cops’ identities from BWC footage, even in the case of serious use of force or police killings.
  • This allows police to bypass accountability for their unlawful actions, which defeats the purpose of releasing footage.
  • BWC footage is often the fastest, most accessible method we have to obtain cops’ identities and hold them accountable within the statute of limitations.
• It will also allow police to view BWC footage before writing initial reports in many cases.
  • This blatantly ignores the Police Reform Commission's recommendation prohibiting police from viewing their BWC before writing reports and will make it easier for police to lie.
• Finally, the bill will remove an important public safety law requiring DC police to inform the public that they’re being recorded by BWC “when practicable.”
• BWCs help promote transparency and police accountability, deter police misconduct, and provide objective evidence to help resolve complaints against police. DC Council should strike ALL provisions that undermine the purpose of body-worn cameras, which is transparency.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests

• The crimnibus will restrict public access to a wide range of police disciplinary records, so that we can no longer access:
  • Records related to alleged but unsustained misconduct
  • Most types of documents created in preparation for a disciplinary record.
  • Records related to disciplinary proceedings
• The public needs to have access to all complaints so that it can identify patterns in police misconduct over time.
• MPD should not get to unilaterally decide what the public learns about police misconduct. MPD decides which complaints to sustain in the first place, and, with this change, they will get to decide which complaints the public may learn about through FOIA requests too.
• DC Council should protect public access to ALL MPD disciplinary records and strike any provisions that limit public records to only sustained allegations of police misconduct.

Disciplinary Actions

• The crimnibus will remove cops’ names and badge numbers from adverse action hearing notices. These notices are generated and published online to inform the public about when an adverse action hearing will take place related to police disciplinary matters.
• The police should not have less accountability than the general public. When ordinary civilians are parties in public court hearings, their names are not redacted–they are publicly accessible forever.
• Publishing police names and badge numbers in advance allows the public and legal advocates who seek to hold specific cops accountable or track patterns of misconduct know which publicly accessible adverse action hearings they need to attend.
• DC Council should strike ALL provisions that make it harder for the public to access information about police disciplinary actions. The public deserves to know about police violence and other misconduct so we can protect ourselves against their abuses of power.