Professor Shea Cronin Quoted in New Bedford Light Article on Police Data Mix-up
Dr. Shea Cronin, assistant professor of criminal justice and associate chair of the Department of Applied Social Sciences at BU’s Metropolitan College, was quoted in a March 9, 2022, article published by the New Bedford Light. The article, “New Bedford police submit inaccurate data to state agency reviewing officer misconduct,” delves into misleading data reported to the new Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, including erroneous complaints against a sergeant in the New Bedford Police Department. The article highlights challenges for law enforcement agencies as they submit, for the first time, required data on misconduct to POST, which was established to investigate and adjudicate claims of police misconduct. The New Bedford Police Department revealed that inaccuracies in their spreadsheet originated in the software used to compile the data.
Dr. Cronin, an expert in crime policy and administration who teaches in BU MET’s Criminal Justice programs, notes that the mix-up indicates a need for enhanced practices within law enforcement agencies. “The agency is submitting data on behalf of their officers,” he said. “They should be doing internal checks to confirm that what they are submitting to the state system reflects what they have in their personnel records. But I think within local law enforcement agencies, those processes are not well integrated in every department because they have never had to submit that data externally before.”
Read the full article in the New Bedford Light.