Prince William Police release internal findings on immigration issues

When WJLA, the ABC Washington DC affiliate,  released a Nov. 19 story about varying levels of cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amongst local law enforcement agencies, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors (BOCS) issued a directive to the PWCPD to look into the information which had been provided to the reporter by a member of the police department.

Furthermore, the BOCS directed the police department to “immediately take corrective actions to inform ICE of any person they encounter who is identified, for whom there is an ICE warrant, whether it is deportation, civil or criminal” in accordance with the 2007 illegal immigration resolution enacted by the BOCS.

Also at the direction of the BOCS, an outside audit was to be conducted by RSM, the County’s contract audit provider.

In response to the BOCS directive, the police department conducted an internal review by utilizing the following resources: 

·      National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS)
·      Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC -Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
·      Crime Analysis/Intel Unit
·      Public Safety Communications Center /Teletype

In conclusion, the findings of the internal review and preliminary report from RSM showed that the information initially given to the WJLA reporter by a police department member was not accurate.

This information was not in accordance with the department’s current Illegal Immigration policy. The department has taken corrective action to address this oversight, Perok said.

Despite the miscommunication provided to the reporter, the police department worked extensively and has verified that proper notifications were made to ICE for 100% of the individuals who met the criteria established in the original BOCS resolutions in 2007 and 2008, according to Sgt. Perok.

The police department has a well-established history of cooperating with ICE and remains committed to ensuring that all department members fully comply with the standing BOCS resolution.

Furthermore, the BOCS directed the police department to “immediately take corrective actions to inform ICE of any person who is identified, for whom there is an ICE warrant, whether it is deportation, civil or criminal” in accordance with the 2007 illegal immigration resolution enacted by the BOCS.

The police department has a well-established history of cooperating with ICE and remains committed to ensuring that all department members fully comply with the standing BOCS resolution, said Perok.