New training aims to reduce wrongful arrests in Illinois

Illinois leads the country in exonerations, according to the National Registry of Exonerations and the Center for Wrongful Convictions. And the top reason for wrongful arrests in the state is police misconduct.

To address the issue, the University of Illinois Police Training Institute has launched a new program. It’s dubbed Wrongful Conviction and Awareness and Avoidance Training, and it’s mandatory for all Illinois Police recruits.

“We’re building a solid foundation for our criminal legal system that’s going to be represented for the next 20 to 30 years here in Illinois,” said Marcus Beach, director of the training program.

“These are the young men and women who are coming into this profession,” Beach continued. “They’re going to carry it forward and improve the relationships with the communities and the way that hopefully wrongful convictions are ended by this training.”

Police recruits learn about wrongful arrests and convictions at the University of Illinois Police Training Institute in Champaign, Illinois. Photo courtesy Danielle Davis
Police recruits learn about wrongful arrests and convictions at the University of Illinois Police Training Institute in Champaign, Illinois. Photo courtesy Danielle Davis
The University of Illinois Police Training Institute in Champaign, Illinois. Photo courtesy Danielle Davis
The University of Illinois Police Training Institute in Champaign, Illinois. Photo courtesy Danielle Davis

Part of the training involves introducing the trainees to people who have been wrongfully convicted, including Antoine Day.

“I have 14 years in the system,” Day said during a recent session. 

He was sentenced to more than 60 years in prison but exonerated after an investigation determined police wrongfully arrested him.

Day is a frequent speaker at the training institute and said he supports the Illinois Innocence Project, which has helped exonerate nearly 300 people.

“I dedicated my life to change because we’re never going to get justice in this country. But, we can get the legal system to be legal.”

The majority of people who are wrongfully convicted are Black men.

WATCH: New training aims to reduce wrongful arrests in Illinois

In the United States, 53 percent of people wrongfully convicted are Black. In Illinois, 77 percent of those wrongfully arrested and convicted are Black.

While courts, attorneys and juries all play a role in those outcomes, everything starts with the arrest.

“We’re the first ones on the scene so our perspective is very vital to the investigation,” said Daniel Hamlet, a recruit at the University of Illinois Police Department. 

“Hearing their stories…I can’t believe that happened to them,” Hamlet said about guest speakers at the institute. “So it makes me … want to put myself in a position that that doesn’t happen to anybody else.”

Exoneree Antoine Day tells his story of wrongful conviction to police recruits at the University of Illinois Police Training Institute. Photo courtesy Danielle Davis
Exoneree Antoine Day tells his story of wrongful conviction to police recruits at the University of Illinois Police Training Institute. Photo courtesy Danielle Davis

Official misconduct accounts for almost all of the exonerations in the United States.

Police officer misconduct represents about 43 percent of the exonerations. In Illinois, police officer misconduct makes about 80 percent of wrongful convictions.

The top wrongful arrests are for crimes like murder and drug possession.

“We have one chance to do it right,” said Joseph Gallo, director of the Police Training Institute. “We need to make sure these recruits understand that.”

Day knows the alternative all too well.

“I’m a mama’s boy, my family … he took all that away from me,” Day said about the officer who arrested him. “I don’t hate cops, I love cops. Some of my family members are cops. But I hate dirty cops, I hate people that bully the community and take advantage of people. I hate that.”

Day said he plays music to help and tries to focus on the future and spending time with family.

“I have my days, my nights, my nightmares some\,” he said. “You have these dreams and these dreams can destroy you.”

This report was made possible through a Pew Youth Justice Fellowship and the National Association of Black Journalists.

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