LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hillard Heintze, a Chicago-based consulting firm, will perform the top-to-bottom review of the Louisville Metro Police Department Mayor Greg Fischer (D) called for last month.
“It is clear we need to reimagine what policing looks like, and that includes taking deep, hard looks to see what’s working well, and what we can be doing better,” Fischer said. “Our next permanent police chief will be responsible for ensuring that LMPD’s policies, procedures and structure align with the goals and values of our entire city, and this review will be a vital tool in ensuring a complete understanding of the department’s strengths and weaknesses.”
The Jensen Hughes company previously worked on the "Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing: Transparency, Accountability, and Better Community Engagement." In addition, the U.S. Department of Justice chose Hillard Heintze as the sole provider for the Community Oriented Policing Services Office Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance, the largest U.S. program to advance police reform in cities and universities across the country.
“We’re very pleased to be asked to do this critical work,” said Ken Bouche, Hillard Heintze's chief operating officer. “Sound policies and procedures lie at the heart of how LMPD personnel operate every day – from engaging directly with the community, to training and supporting officers and addressing internal affairs with integrity and fairness. It’s vital that these be evaluated from an independent and objective perspective, informed by best practices in use by other departments with comparable challenges. We are very confident that the findings and recommendations emerging from this review, upon implementation, will help the Mayor, the permanent chief and every member of the Department improve services delivered to all members of the city’s communities.”
The review will look at several areas of LMPD, including use of force, bias-free policing, accountability, supervision, community engagement, and more. The review will also examine any obstacles stopping changes in these areas.
The decision to choose Hillard Heintze was made in collaboration with Metro Council President David James (D).
“I feel confident that we have selected the best firm to carry out this review of LMPD,” James said. “While we know that due to poor past leadership, LMPD has many problems that need correcting, this study can be used as a blueprint for the yet to be selected new chief to follow.”
Hillard Heintze will be active in gathering community feedback to ensure substantial interactions with community members, interest groups, prosecutors and defense attorneys and LMPD personnel.
“Public safety is a community production, and it’s key that the opinions and needs of the community, police and partners are understood as we move forward,” Fischer said.
Fischer also announced that the community survey on LMPD's next police chief and the internal survey for LMPD will be extended through Friday, July 17. Currently, nearly 9,000 people have completed the online survey.
The survey is also available by phone at (502) 528-3543 from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. through Friday. Call-takers will input answers online.
“I’m encouraging everyone in our community, especially those who feel strongly about police policies, to participate in the process to hire a new permanent chief by calling or completing the online survey,” Fischer said.
Louisville contracted with the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a non-profit Washington, D.C.-based police research organization, to conduct the search.