Expertise in Peace Officer Standards & Training (POST) Certifications
The Law Enforcement Solutions Group (LESG) team possesses extensive knowledge and a deep understanding of the implications of new police reform laws across the country, particularly in Massachusetts. Here, the new POST guidelines were implemented as of December 2020.
As of December 1, 2021, all law enforcement personnel in Massachusetts must now rely on specific statutes for the authority to use force, a significant shift from prior common law and constitutional law practices. The most recent police reform legislation mandates that law enforcement officers actively work to prevent excessive force.
This legislation further stipulates that if an officer is proven to have committed a violation of use of force standards, that officer shall be decertified as a police officer. Beyond this, the POST Commission has the authority to:
- Monitor allegations of misconduct.
- Demand information related to internal investigations.
- Conduct its own independent
POST Certification and Compliance
The Division of Police Standards is mandated to investigate any law enforcement officer when sufficient or credible information is received regarding:
- Officer involvement in an injury or death.
- Suspicion of an officer committing a crime.
- Officer engagement in conduct prohibited by statute.
- Agency head recommendations for POST action, such as retraining, suspension, or decertification of an officer’s certification.
Any officer whose certification is suspended has the right to a hearing with a POST designee within 15 days. Law Enforcement Solutions Group has attorneys on staff to assist any officer facing a POST suspension or decertification.
Under the POST Statute, all law enforcement agencies are required to cooperate with POST and must themselves be certified by POST, establishing their own certification standards. Law Enforcement Solutions Group consults with police departments to ensure they are in compliance with all reporting guidelines.
Human Exploitation and Trafficking / Expert Witness
Police contact with human trafficking (HT) victims is a critical opportunity to disrupt exploitation and connect individuals with vital services. However, potential victims often don’t identify as such, deeply mistrust law enforcement, and grapple with significant psychological and addiction issues that police may not be equipped to address.
The field currently lacks collaborative models that account for these complex dynamics at the point of police contact, leading to missed opportunities to help individuals still being exploited. There’s an urgent need to reimagine police contact as an opportunity to engage HT victims. This requires a radically person-centered approach grounded in collaboration between law enforcement and services, trauma-informed policing, and innovative service models. We have developed a successful model that connects HT victims with crucial services while also effectively prosecuting traffickers.
Independent Officer-Involved Shooting (OIS) Reviews
Law Enforcement Solutions Group provides independent OIS investigations that are conducted with transparency, fairness, and legality for all parties involved: officers, victims and their families, the criminal justice system, and the local community. Our OIS investigations are carried out impartially to maximize transparency, ultimately ensuring justice and community confidence in the determination.
Law Enforcement Solutions Group has assets strategically located throughout the East Coast, enabling us to deploy, in most cases, within hours to incidents. This rapid response helps to alleviate perceptions of conflicts that can arise from internal investigations. Independent OIS investigations have become essential, and Law Enforcement Solutions is capable of providing municipalities with experienced OIS and homicide investigators at a supervisory and command level.