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Federal grant to fund use of force study
The Prince William County Police Department has received a Department of Justice grant to examine use of force by officers in the County.
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. - One month after a Racial and Social Justice Commission report revealed a disproportionate number of African Americans in Prince William County experienced use of force during encounters with Prince William County police, the department is examining its procedures.
FOX 5 has learned $250,000 in federal funding will go to the county to analyze its use of force tactics.
The allocated funds are following the recent approval of congressional earmarks for community improvement initiatives.
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Police say the money is coming from a Department of Justice grant that will allow the Prince William County Police Department to perform a proactive study to determine what improvements can be made, and if additional training is needed.
RELATED: Prince William County police respond to report detailing higher use of force on African Americans
The county is nearly 20% Black. However, according to the Racial and Social Justice Commission report, Black Americans accounted for 49% of the department’s use-of-force incidents in 2020, compared to 23% for White and Hispanic/Latino residents.
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The department says it recognizes that officers using force remains a critical issue in communities. Prince William County police say it’s worth exploring deeper to ensure the force used is lawful and not unjustly disproportionately used against communities of color.
The goal of the plan would assess, evaluate, and analyze the department’s use of force policies, training programs, and police culture including supervision and de-escalation strategies.
FOX 5’s Tisha Lewis reports the independent contractor assigned to the study will also decide if there’s a need for additional use of force data to be gathered and how the existing data should be interpreted and made available to the public.