In the past year, the former police chief of Alorton and East St Louis (MO) Police Departments was caught stealing computer video games in an FBI sting and the former mayor of Alorton pleaded guilty to using the police department to steal and ditribute cocaine. Now, as reported by stltoday.com, the troubled police departments in East St Louis could be subjected increased oversight following the proposed creation of a “Metro East Police District Commission”. Although the four agencies would continue to operate independently, the Commission would impose regulations and standards and have control of their finances.

Any sign of corruption or malpractice among law enforcement is a serious problem. It reduces trust and cooperation leading to the proliferation of problems like the “Stop Snitching phenomenon”. If the new legislation in East St Louis is passed, the new Commission will have to think very carefully about how it can impose improved standards and practices. It is not enough simply to write new policies. Robust systems must be implemented to enable management oversight. abmpegasus helps to address some of these issues, giving management oversight of traditionally opaque areas of policing without compromising confidentiality and security.