An independent study of the Waukegan police department’s juvenile arrest and interrogation procedures prompted by the false arrest of a teenager determined current policies are generally in line with state law, but improvements were suggested.
City officials released the general study of the police department’s juvenile interrogation policies and procedures Tuesday, but withheld the report of a second inquiry into the specific case of the teenager which led to the investigation, pending approval from the teen’s family.
Jensen Hughes, the consultant retained by the city, sent its report to the city June 17, according to a letter from Rob Davis, the company’s senior vice president and global service line leader, accompanying the studies.
The studies were ordered in the aftermath of the arrest of Waukegan High School sophomore Martel Williams on Feb. 16 for the attempted murder of a store clerk Feb. 4 in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
Williams was held in juvenile detention for two days before he was released on Feb. 18 when police learned he was playing basketball at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire at the time of the assault.
The city said in a statement the review of how the case was handled contains specific details about the arrest, interrogation and incarceration of Williams.
“As a result, this (second) report must be kept confidential pursuant to the requirements of the Illinois Juvenile Court Act unless the subject of the report provides consent of its release or a juvenile court judge orders its release,” the city said in the statement.
As of Tuesday, the family has not agreed to the release of the second case specific report, according to the city’s statement.
Among the recommendations made by Jensen Hughes were that an attorney be present for any juvenile interview if the minor is under the age of 15, officers be given specific guidance on the reasonable amount of time to interrogate a minor and that all juvenile interrogations be videotaped.
The report compared the police department’s practices to best practices of the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Program and Illinois law.
“Our principal finding is that the department’s policies and procedures regarding the interrogation of juveniles is generally in compliance with best practices in Illinois,” David wrote in the June 17 letter. “However, we have identified some areas of improvement.”
Along with recommending an attorney’s presence during an interrogation and videotaping, the report suggested the department issue a juvenile defendant’s Miranda warning in a complete statement rather than stopping after each specific right, which is current Illinois law.
While it is not publicly known at this time how long Williams was interrogated by the police after his arrest or at what time of day, the Department of Justice guidelines suggest such interviews last no more than an hour and not be done “in the middle of the night.” State law is silent on the two issues.