SALT LAKE CITY It s one of the first things new cadets learn when they go through the Peace Officer Standards and Training course to become certified law enforcers in Utah:
Don t use your police laptop to access personal information about people whom you aren t investigating as part of your job.
That s why the top brass with the certification agency and the Utah Department of Public Safety say it s very concerning that they are seeing an increase in the number of officers who are illegally accessing protected police records including to check backgrounds on people they are dating or want to date.
The police reform bill has been at the front of the minds of the Massachusetts Legislature this month, with the bill being sent to Governor Baker at the beginning of the month, which he sent back with amendments. A new version is now before the Governor again after being approved by the Senate and the House.
Baker initially responded with some amendments that some elected officials, including Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, whose district covers Mission Hill, did not agree with.
In an email newsletter on December 19, Chang-Diaz wrote, “The changes cut at one of the central goals of the bill: to not just hold officers accountable for misconduct, but to reduce and prevent that very misconduct from happening in the first place. Under the Governor’s amendments, key powers to establish training curricula, set certification standards, and most importantly make rules about police use of force would be taken away from the civilian-led POST board (“Police Officer Standards &