By Mark Carlisle | YourValley
New updates to police reform in Phoenix include plans for 30% of non-emergency 911 calls to be fielded by an automated system in an effort to make up for staffing shortages.
Following a scathing report from the U.S. Department of Justice released in June, the Phoenix Police Department is updating a wide-ranging set of policies before training staff on new guidelines on topics such as use of force and First Amendment rights to protest as well as a new 311 hotline for report alleged police misconduct.
Many of the policy changes were started before the DOJ report was released and some before the DOJ’s investigation into the city began in August 2021.
Several of those policies will head out to the public for input next spring.
Assistant City Manager Lori Bays told Phoenix City Council during a meeting Tuesday that many policies were due to be ready for the public input process in April but they tried to spread them out.
