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States with a police bill of rights statute or regulation
| Police hiring, training, and discipline |
|---|
|
| • Police collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) • Ballotpedia CBA dashboard •Reform proposals •CBA areas of inquiry and disagreement •Arguments about police collective bargaining • Index of articles about criminal justice policy |
| Click here for more analysis of police hiring, training, and disciplinary requirements by state and city on Ballotpedia |
This page contains information from a Ballotpedia analysis about which states have a police bill of rights statute or regulation. It is part of an analysis of police union collective bargaining agreements and related arrangements with police unions concerning hiring, training, and disciplinary requirements in the 50 states and top 100 cities by population.
According to the analysis, 22 states had a police bill of rights as of December 2023.
This page features the following sections:
Maps
Map showing which states have a police bill of rights statute or regulation
Background
Through the lens of more than 30 research questions related to police hiring, training, and discipline, Ballotpedia examined the collective bargaining agreements, statutes, and regulatory codes governing the 50 states and the top 100 US cities by population.
Some of the hiring, training, and discipline standards for police officers not established by statutes or regulations arise from negotiations with police unions. Those negotiations are often codified in collective bargaining agreements. Those agreements are the contracts that states and cities sign following negotiations with police unions. Some states and cities restrict collective bargaining, but may still negotiate with police unions using other methods. After negotiating with the unions, those jurisdictions sometimes establish police standards through documents including memoranda of understanding or meet and confer agreements.
You can find lists of all the collective bargaining agreements and other documents used by Ballotpedia for this survey here for states and here for cities.
Summary of findings
Ballotpedia's analysis of state and city union policies produced the following key takeaways (as of December 2023):
- 22 states had a police bill of rights
- There are 18 states that have statutes outlining rights for law enforcement officers under investigation, which may include the right to a hearing, notice, or other procedural provisions
- There are nine states that have statutes outlining due process protections for law enforcement officers related to disciplinary procedures
- 28 states did not have a police bill of rights
Results
The table below includes each state in alphabetical order and indicates those that have police bills of rights. To see the provisions Ballotpedia used to support these results, click here.
- YES means that the jurisdiction has a police bill of rights
- NO means that the jurisdiction does not have a police bill of rights
- NO CBA means that the jurisdiction does not have a collective bargaining agreement
- UNKNOWN means that Ballotpedia could not verify whether the jurisdiction had a collective bargaining agreement
- FOIA DENIED means that the jurisdiction rejected Ballotpedia's request to review any collective bargaining agreements
| City | bill-of-rights |
|---|
| State | bill-of-rights |
|---|---|
| Alabama | NO |
| Alaska | NO |
| Arizona | YES |
Explicit Police Bill of Rights. Outlines rights under investigation and against discipline without cause. | |
| Arkansas | YES |
Explicit Police Bill of Rights. Outlines rights under investigation and participation in political activity. | |
| California | YES |
Explicit Police Bill of Rights. Outlines police officer rights under investigation, and officer rights to respond to complaint | |
| Colorado | NO |
| Connecticut | NO |
| Delaware | YES |
Outlines officer right to due process, and rights under investigation. Not specifically referred to as a Police Bill of Rights. | |
| Florida | YES |
Explicit Police Bill of Rights. Outlines officer rights while under investigation, and limitations period for disciplinary action. | |
| Georgia | YES |
| Hawaii | NO |
| Idaho | NO |
| Illinois | YES |
Entitled "Uniform Peace Officers' Disciplinary Act." Outlines officer rights under disciplinary procedures and procedure for interrogation. | |
| Indiana | YES |
Public safety officer rights under disciplinary procedure, and prohibition against threat of discipline for exercising rights. | |
| Iowa | YES |
Rights of police officer under investigation, excepting criminal proceedings. Rights are in addition to any granted by CBA. | |
| Kansas | NO |
| Kentucky | YES |
Manner of procedure for handling complaints against police officers, and officer rights while under investigation. | |
| Louisiana | YES |
Rights of law enforcement officers while under investigation. | |
| Maine | NO |
| Maryland | NO |
| Massachusetts | NO |
| Michigan | NO |
| Minnesota | YES |
Police officer rights under disciplinary procedure, including right to representation. | |
| Mississippi | NO |
| Missouri | YES |
Police officer rights while under investigation, including right to due process hearing for any discipline that might result in economic loss. | |
| Montana | YES |
Rights of police officer under appeal. | |
| Nebraska | NO |
| Nevada | YES |
Rights of police officers while under investigation; opportunity for hearing, right to representation. Prohibition from ticket quotas. | |
| New Hampshire | NO |
| New Jersey | NO |
| New Mexico | YES |
Rights of peace officers, especially when under investigation. Officers shall not be punished for exercising rights. | |
| New York | NO |
| North Carolina | NO |
| North Dakota | NO |
| Ohio | NO |
| Oklahoma | NO |
| Oregon | YES |
Police officer rights under disciplinary procedure, including safeguards, just cause, and notice. Does not apply for investigations of solely criminal activities. | |
| Pennsylvania | NO |
| Rhode Island | YES |
Explicitly titled "Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights." Right to hearing, procedure, appeal, no retaliation for exercising rights. | |
| South Carolina | NO |
| South Dakota | NO |
| Tennessee | YES |
Rights of police officers under investigation, including hearing and right to respond. No officer shall be prohibited from political activity when off duty. | |
| Texas | YES |
Section 143.004 Allows for municipality to adopt or repeal chapter. Officer rights under investigation and right to appeal. Sec 143.363 Protected rights of individual employees. | |
| Utah | NO |
| Vermont | NO |
| Virginia | YES |
Law Officers Procedural Guarantee Act. Includes conduct of investigation, right to hearing and response. Provisions of this chapter do not apply if locality has established a law enforcement civilian oversight body pursuant to 9.1-601 | |
| Washington | NO |
| West Virginia | YES |
Officer rights under investigation. Composition of hearing board, hearing procedure, right to hearing and appeal. | |
| Wisconsin | YES |
Explicitly named Law Enforcement Officer Bill of Rights. Rights under interrogation, prohibition against discipline for exercising rights. | |
| Wyoming | NO |
See also
Footnotes
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