Cohort 2025
American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia
Empowering West Virginians through a Police Accountability Dashboard
Charleston, WV
In West Virginia, there is no comprehensive review of police conduct (PDF), meaning there is limited information on who misconduct impacts in West Virginia and how. Despite this, a study on traffic stops by the ACLU of West Virginia and other organizations demonstrated traffic enforcement practices that may undermine public safety by disproportionately targeting Black people.
For people who have been arrested, access to information about the police officers involved in their cases is crucial for a fair legal defense and to ensure due process. Evidence suggests that previous officer misconduct is associated with future police misconduct and that a history of misconduct related to intentional deceptive conduct is information for defense attorneys that can impact the credibility of officer testimony. But in West Virginia, county prosecutors do not maintain lists of officers who have been fired or allowed to resign because of proven misconduct. This lack of information places the burden on defendants and their legal teams, potentially compromising public safety and trust in the criminal legal system.
With Catalyst grant funding, the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia (ACLU-WV), in partnership with the DataFace, will build the Police Accountability Community Dashboard, a free searchable tool that will provide prosecutors and legal defense teams with the information needed to consider officers’ histories of misconduct. The dashboard will include the employment histories of approximately 30,000 officers in the state, along with appearances before the state police review board and references to news media reports about officer misconduct. The ACLU-WV will train community partners to use the dashboard, empowering them with information that will help them navigate interactions with the criminal legal system and providing them with access to key elements of legal defense.
