Since the launch of their “Report Police” campaign in June 2016, ALAC’s team has received over 525 reports of corruption or abuse by police officers. Some come in as phone calls, some by email, and others through a special app ASJ designed to make it easy – and anonymous – to report government corruption. In other cases, witnesses or victims of corruption come into the ASJ office to make their report.
After he receives the reports, Carlos Pego evaluates them – ensuring there is sufficient information and that the report links the officer with a crime like corruption, abuse of authority, theft, or even murder. ALAC takes on the investigation of cases of police corruption and shares all reports with the Police Reform Commission for their information as they evaluate every officer in the police force.
Often, these citizen reports can trigger a closer look that results in more crime and corruption being uncovered. Pego has seen many of the same police officers who appeared in the reports, later appearing on the list of officers fired from the force, whose documents are also shared with the courts for further legal investigation.
