On Monday the Lakeland Police Advisory Commission will give city leaders their final report on how to improve the Lakeland Police Department.
The police chief and the city manager were tasked with documenting who knew what, when they knew it and what the policy failures were. It’s a report that could have some new details the public may not have known about.
The Lakeland Police Advisory Commission were asked to answer four questions in hopes of making the city better when scandal after scandal rocked the Lakeland Police Department.
After 10 meetings, losing members and more fall out from the LPD, the 15 page report delves into several areas of the department.
The group is recommending things like search and seizure training to avoid incidents like the bra shaking case.
Another hot button issue the commission focused on is repairing the relationship with the state’s attorney by having quarterly meetings. It’s a suggestion that comes after the state’s attorney wrote a scathing letter calling Police Chief Lisa Womack’s performance on the job poor.
In the report the group points out that one person can take a city down and it’s up to leadership to own it, improve it and change it.
They also want all employees to speak up without fear if they notice something is wrong. The commission is hoping more transparency and an all employee survey will help with the culture and ultimately improve the issues plaguing the city.
It’s ultimately up to city commissioners to decide which changes and recommendations they want to implement.
The group did cite some positive things LPD has done in the last couple of months. LPD got reaccredited. And the group said LPD is trying to be more transparent with the public by posting every development of their internal affairs investigation on the city’s website.