St. Louis County police have officially rewritten the rulebook on when officers can use force, adopting their first new policy since 2010 and closing out a years-long overhaul that department leaders say centers de-escalation, documentation and closer supervisory review. It is the most substantial change to the department's force rules in more than a decade and follows steady local pressure for tighter standards.
The Board of Police Commissioners granted final approval in March, capping a process that started in 2017 and went through nearly 40 drafts, according to reporting by St. Louis Public Radio. The policy adds new reporting requirements for officers, and the department says more than 900 county officers are already in training on the updated rules.
“This is a modernization that builds on our current policy,” Capt. Brad Bland said, explaining that the goal was to bring written rules in line with current training and legal standards. At the same time, a county official warned the changes could increase scrutiny of individual decisions and might leave officers exposed if their reports and supervisor reviews do not match, as reported by St. Louis Public Radio.
What changed
The updated policy puts stronger emphasis on de-escalation and instructs officers to scale their use of force to the level of resistance they encounter. It also broadens the kinds of encounters that must be documented, which is expected to generate more paperwork and more data for supervisors and oversight bodies to review.
The county's police academy has scheduled de-escalation and supervisory courses as part of its continuing-education lineup, a sign that the department is baking the new expectations into both recruit training and in-service sessions for veteran officers. Course listings are posted by the St. Louis County Police Academy.
Training and roll-out
County officials say the roll-out is already underway across precincts, with supervisors expected to scrutinize new reports and sign off on each use of force. Department leaders plan to build the rules into the standard academy curriculum for new recruits and to fold them into ongoing continuing-education requirements for officers already on the street.
Oversight and what is next
The overhaul arrives in the long shadow of Ferguson era reforms, including a 2015 assessment by the U.S. Department of Justice that flagged serious problems with use-of-force practices and reporting. That assessment still serves as a reference point for advocates and county officials alike. The full report from the U.S. Department of Justice remains publicly available.
Advocates and oversight bodies are expected to watch early incidents and reporting trends closely to see whether the new rules actually reduce unnecessary force and strengthen accountability. The Board of Police Commissioners has said it will monitor how the policy is implemented as training continues and fresh reporting data begin to come in.
