Two District of Columbia council members have called for the reform of the city’s costly police booking system, which requires officers to personally take arrest reports to court each morning after an arrest.
For decades, the city’s police officers have had to go to the courthouse to meet face-to-face with prosecutors before filing charges. The process takes hundreds of police officers off the street and costs the District nearly $5 million in overtime each year, money that could pay for at least 52 extra officers, Council Member Tommy Wells said.
Wells and Council Member Phil Mendelson introduced legislation Wednesday calling on the D.C. police, U.S. Attorney’s Office and the District of Columbia Superior Court to reform D.C.’s booking process.
“The cost of papering is taking its toll on the District — from the millions in overtime pay to the endless frustrations created for our police officers,” Wells said.
A patrol officer working 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. who makes an arrest at 10:30 p.m. will process the arrest until 1 a.m., get to court by 7:30 a.m. Sometimes the officer can be at court for up to eight hours before having to head back to work for the late shift.
Officers often are forced to sleep in their car after a shift before heading back to court, Wells said.
New D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier vowed to overhaul the court-papering system, calling it a “morale-buster.” Within a year, her office said, police officers should be able to write arrest reports with enough information that they do not need to meet with prosecutors until later in the process.
But U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeffrey Taylor has no plans to eliminate the city’s unique practice, spokesman Channing Phillips said.
“We’re just not there yet,” Phillips said.
The immediate contact between police and prosecutors prevents prosecutorial problems down the road, he said.
