Complaints against law enforcement in Lancaster County have been down over the past two years, coinciding with a newly released Gallup poll that shows 76 percent of Americans have a “great deal†of respect for police in their area, a 12 percent increase from 2015.
Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner said there have been two complaints against deputies this year -- one an internal issue that resulted in disciplinary action and another from a resident who alleged a deputy used excessive force. That complaint is still under investigation, he said.
Last year, Wagner’s office received eight complaints against deputies. In 2013, it received 11.
The sheriff credits the decrease to awareness by deputies of the need for fair and impartial treatment of every Lancaster resident.
“This has been a huge topic all year long, both from a community relations perspective and an officer safety perspective,†Wagner said. “There are some definite measures being taken to make sure deputies are aware of how their actions are interpreted.â€
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From July 1 to Sept. 30, Lincoln police received 85 complaints against officers. The department also received 202 commendations for its officers. In the same period last year, 92 complaints were filed and 156 commendations were given.Ìý
In all of 2015, LPD received 386 complaints. So far this year, that number is at 302, with 371 commendations.
Those numbers are from both internal investigations and resident complaints, Officer Katie Flood said.
Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister said the department has been using a Quality Service Audit since the 1990s to solicit information from residents about officer performance. In the last public report, 93.3 percent of respondents said officers treated them with dignity, 93.9 percent said a given officer was considerate of their feelings and 89.2 percent said they were treated fairly. Another 75 percent gave a positive response when asked, "How safe and secure do you feel in the neighborhood where you live?"
"We are proactively seeking input back from the community that we serve from members that have had contact with our agency in order to improve the service we provide," the chief said Friday.Ìý
The department has a number of programs in place that helps officers stay connected, including five community conversation meetings so far this year.
"We seek input and hear the voice of those we serve, many of which may be that part of the population base who don’t have a great deal of respect (for police)," Bliemeister said, explaining the meetings give officers a chance to get feedback from the community on how they're doing.