PENNSYLVANIA Gov. Rendell backs tougher rules to end state police sex misconduct

A federal suit against a former trooper sparked the revised guidelines.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- Gov. Ed Rendell endorsed a hard-hitting report Tuesday that calls for a crackdown on sexual misconduct in the ranks of the Pennsylvania State Police.
The governor also said he will hire a nationally known consultant to oversee implementation of the changes the report recommends.
"The vast majority of our troopers are excellent public servants ... men and women who put their lives on the line and do it a manner that would make the citizens of Pennsylvania proud," Rendell said. "But we want to prevent even one incident from occurring again."
In his report, state Inspector General Donald L. Patterson said his office's review of complaints filed against uniformed members of the state police since 1995 revealed a pattern of lax and inconsistent discipline, and an organizational culture that tolerated it.
"The procedural problems are symptomatic of an attitude that fails to respect and recognize the importance of sexual harassment and sexual-misconduct issues," Patterson said in his report, which incorporates the work of 11 full-time investigators.
Patterson initiated his investigation in late June amid publicity over dozens of past sexual-misconduct complaints made public in federal court as part of a civil lawsuit.
That suit was brought against a former trooper now serving prison time for crimes committed against several women and teenage girls while he was on duty.
State police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller subsequently conducted an internal review of 163 such complaints during a six-year period ending in 2001 and said he found no indications that any were handled improperly.
Sixty-eight of the complaints, involving 75 troopers and four other employees, were found to have merit. Fourteen employees were fired, though four were later reinstated by labor arbitrators.
"We cannot go back and remake the past -- make every wrong right -- but we can continue to lay the groundwork for change and ensure that these kinds of problems are not a part of our future," Rendell said at a news conference where he was flanked by Patterson and Miller.
In the report
Among Patterson's findings and recommendations:
* State police should bar the practice of allowing troop commanders to investigate allegations of misconduct and mete out punishment, often leading to "minimal" and inconsistent penalties. Sexual misconduct complaints should be investigated by the department's Bureau of Professional Responsibility, and punishment should be decided by the department's disciplinary officer.
* Arbitrators have refused in some cases to sustain the firing of an officer convicted of criminal conduct. State police should seek legislative action to require dismissal under such circumstances.
* State police should develop an outreach program to make it easier for citizens to file misconduct complaints with the Bureau of Professional Responsibility.
through mail or the Internet. A toll-free hot line for sexual-misconduct complaints also is recommended.
* Training about the problem of sexual harassment, which has not been part of mandatory in-service training for state police since 1999, should be restored.
* A staffing shortage prevents the department's equal-opportunity officer from participating in training or investigations. The department should provide more resources to make participation possible.
Union response
Bruce A. Edwards, a state police sergeant who is president of the 4,200-member Pennsylvania State Troopers Association, acknowledged that troop commanders can technically dispose of disciplinary cases, but asserted that centralized processing of sexual-misconduct cases is already routine.
"If it has anything to do with sexual misconduct, they wouldn't touch it," he said.
Edwards also objected to recommendations to limit arbitrators' authority to reverse departmental decisions, calling the issue "a red herring."
"There's no one ever who's been convicted of a felony and gotten his job back," he said.
Miller, whom the Senate confirmed as commissioner in March, has already implemented some of the changes recommended by Patterson, a retired Philadelphia police officer.
They include stricter guidelines for sexual-misconduct penalties; a threat of disciplinary action for state police officers who fail to report misconduct by others; and the posting of a misconduct complaint form on the state police Web site.