Three years ago, after a video of Rochester police handcuffing and pepper-spraying a schoolgirl in distress reached the public, state and local officials joined in uniform outrage, calling for immediate reforms to child arrests and use of force.

“This isn’t how the police should treat anyone, let alone a 9-year-old girl,” said then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

State Sen. Samra Brouk, who chairs the Senate committee on mental health, called the incident inexcusable, stating in a press release that the child “needed comfort and help, not more violence.”

Today, there are new state laws curbing child arrests, with more reforms in the works. And the Rochester police department has updated its policies on child arrests, recognizing that early interactions with officers can have lasting impact on their trust of law enforcement.

A spokesman said the department constantly reviews its training and policies to keep them in line with or exceed national standards.

But earlier this year, a local independent watchdog agency evaluated the department’s 2021 policy and found concerning gaps. Specifically, it does not explicitly list acceptable use of force techniques and those that should be barred in the case of child arrests. Additionally, investigators with the Police Accountability Board reported there was no way for them to evaluate whether the new policy is effective or even being followed, because the police department would not provide all the information they sought.

The limited information available raised “concerns about accountability and policy adherence,’’ stated the board’s report.

The report analyzed 318 child arrest incidents between Dec. 2021 and May 2023 involving 184 minors. Among other key findings, investigators reported that the children were mainly Black youth identified as male, and roughly one-third of the cases involved a mental health crisis. Handguns were pointed at children in more than one-quarter of the incidents analyzed, and police restrained children with a knee on their back in 11% of the cases of child arrest.

Investigators said their intention was to cast a critical lens into the racial and demographic breakdowns in these child arrest incidents, “shedding light on potential disparities that warrant consideration and action.” They hope the report prompts the city council, police department and the public to come up with solutions to the questions raised.

Read the full article about Rochester police reforms by Steven Yoder at The Imprint.