Attorney General Josh Shapiro says Tioga borough violated state law when it hired Timothy Loehmann, the police officer who killed Tamir Rice in 2014, without first consulting a state database meant to help hiring entities identify law enforcement applicants with checkered backgrounds. 

Loehmann ultimately withdrew his application, but his near-appointment renewed scrutiny of the 2020 Pennsylvania law that created the database — the subject of a panel hosted by Spotlight PA last week.

The limitations of the law have been tied to reporting loopholes and a lack of consequences for failures to comply. Shapiro previously told Spotlight PA that he would support stronger enforcement provisions.

Here are five takeaways from last week's virtual panel on the flaws and possible fixes, with a link to full video of the hour-long talk.

THE CONTEXT: Panelist Raff Donelson, a professor at Penn State Dickinson Law, said legislation should provide incentives for compliance as well as enforcement provisions. The current law leaves too much room for departmental discretion, Donelson added.

Another panelist, state Rep. Chris Rabb (D., Philadelphia), said action could also be taken at the local level with ordinances that address hiring practices in individual communities and on college campuses.

And because Pennsylvania doesn't have a standardized process for hiring and checking the backgrounds of officers, Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Chief David Steffen said accreditation through third-party groups could help ensure agencies are following best practices.

There are 142 accredited police agencies in Pennsylvania, a small slice of the more than 1,300 departments statewide, though the latter total is hard to confirm, a mathematical mystery explored by Spotlight PA.