This section contains information on officer demographics and departmental initiatives related to equitable policing practices that was input directly by the department through a survey. Charlottesville Police Department submitted its responses to the context survey on November 21, 2022.
Charlottesville, VA 2023
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DEPARTMENTAL CONTEXT
Findings should be interpreted alongside context about the demographics of local residents, the demographics of sworn officers, and the department’s work toward racial equity.
RESIDENT DEMOGRAPHICS
The population of Charlottesville, Virginia is 66% White, 19% Black, 7.1% Asian, 5.4% Latinx, 2.7% Multiple Racial Groups, 0.3% Native, 0.1% Other, and less than 0.05% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. The total population of Charlottesville, Virginia is 47,042.
ABOUT THIS ASSESSMENT
Charlottesville Police Department (CPD) joined CPE’s National Justice Database project in August 2020. CPD shared data with CPE in order to receive analyses intended to support community and law enforcement collaboration on data-informed efforts to enhance equity in public safety. This assessment analyzes data on use of force from Jan 27, 2017 – Dec 20, 2019 and calls for service and officer activity from Jan 1, 2015 – Dec 31, 2019.
DEPARTMENT SUMMARY OF ITS KEY INITIATIVES
CPD has recently updated its policies on use of force, stops, and racial profiling.
DEPARTMENT SUMMARY OF ITS RACIAL EQUITY INITIATIVES
CPD regularly reviews its policies and procedures to ensure uninterrupted compliance with federal and state law, best practices, and standards of accreditation. As a part of its efforts, in 2021, CPD contracted with Lexipol, a leader in policy and procedure development, to redevelop all of its policies and procedures in furtherance of equitable policing and incorporation of 21st Century Policing objectives. These steps continue to be made as a means to further instill public trust in the agency and promote transparency. The development of new policy and procedures is still ongoing.
CPD has been a fully accredited agency with the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission since 2000. Accreditation not only increases CPD’s ability to prevent and control crime through more effective and efficient delivery of law enforcement services to the community, it helps assure both the community and CPD’s members that the agency is both fair and equitable. During the noted time period, CPD updated its policies on use of force, bias-based policing, constitutional procedures, and traffic stops.
CPD’s use of force policy includes a use of force continuum, prohibitions on chokeholds, mandated duty to intervene protocols and reporting procedures, and de-escalation techniques. The Department mandates through policy that all sworn personnel receive both initial and annual refresher training in this area, as well as bias-based policing and cultural diversity, as a means of further integrating equitable policing into its internal subculture. CPD’s constitutional procedures policy further aims to ensure that police/citizen interactions are conducted in a professional manner that is consistent with law, best practice, and in accordance with standards, thereby helping to protect citizens’ constitutional rights. CPD’s traffic stops policy provides guidelines for minimizing conflict during officer/driver contacts and avoiding bias.
DEPARTMENT SUMMARY OF ITS COMMUNITY OUTREACH INITIATIVES
CPD publishes its policies and procedures publicly on its website as a means of furthering transparency. New programs and initiatives are communicated to the community through press releases, its website and its social media platforms.
