Michael A Haber PA Criminal DUI Defense Litigation Miami Blog

Welcome to "CopScore": The "Angie's List" of "Rating" Police Officers.

Yes, it's true.  You can now "rate" - submit your own "citizen performance list" for - police officers. Apparently anyone can register to the site and post "feedback", and apparently they even can do so anonymously.  Although the creators claim that the website is intended to "help to build trust between law enforcement officials and the communities they serve" I have my concerns.

The site allows folks to submit "officer performance reviews" (meaning typed statements which may or may not be filtered, fact-checked or reviewed in any way) about police officers anywhere, whether in their own neighborhood or nationally, and the site is accessible and open to anyone who registers, although their feedback can be anonymous.

According to the sites mission statement CopScore was created to "help cops do a better job of community policing by providing them with performance reviews directly from community members", but such a mechanism already exists... and it is called either a "citizen complaint" or a "citizen commendation".  The former is effectively a negative review while the latter is a form of praise.  "Commendations" can be "filed" by anyone, anywhere and at anytime.  They are generally done in letter form and become a permanent part of a given officer's personnel file.  "Complaints" are identical (meaning that they too done in letter form and become a permanent part of a given officer's personnel file) but complains can be "escalated" into a more serious internal affairs investigation, which cannot be founded upon a letter and instead requires sworn testimony from the complaining witness(es).  While the commendation process seems to be the same (except that it's digital as opposed to analog), the complaint process presents as radically different as CopScore appears of obviate the need for any sort of sworn testimony by an actual bona fide complainant, seemingly permitting "trashing, tarnishing or accusing" any cop, any where or any time and for any thing.

With CopScore I see a great potential for abuse, akin to the "Ripoff Report" (a site which effectively permits - and abets - folks (be them disgruntled, angry, vindictive, mentally ill, or otherwise) to effectively wage a high profile negative internet campaign against anyone on the planet with nothing more than a few keystrokes and no check valve.  The "remedy" for a fraudulent, bogus or even just an arguable misunderstanding is a $2,000.00 internal (of course to the Ripoff Report itself) alleged "arbitration" process.  (Note that there are many private companies who make a living trying to "remove" RipOff Reports but I am unaware of any that have been entirely successful.)  While some - perhaps many or even most - Ripoff Reports are either "earned" or "valid" many are not, not in the least, yet this website is constitutionally permitted to not only effectively abet defamation, but to profit from it as well.

Similarly, while CopScore may promote some percentage of honest to goodness complaints and commendations, I fear that CopScore will also serve as a sounding board for folks who merely express opinions without any personal experience or basis in actual knowledge of a given police officer.  I also see a very real potential for both officer safety and escalated potential for violence against certain police officers.  In the end, I suspect that CopScore will do little more than serve to widen the gap between cops ans citizens by providing a forum those many folks who are just inclined to go negative (well that and make its creators a huge pile of dough on the backs of law enforcement).

When it comes to the subject of "Cops, Courts and Constitutions" you should always have a skilled and experienced criminal defense attorney who is focused on serving your interests.  While we can't stop the cops from arresting you, as your legal counsel Michael A. Haber, PA will ensure that your rights are respected from the moment that representation begins and that any abuses which may have occurred beforehand are remedied.

At Michael A. Haber, P.A. "Its all about reasonable doubt"!