The release of a blistering Department of Justice report on Worcester’s police force may seem like a watershed moment of sorts for the city. However, affected communities say its contents are long-known.

The police department in Worcester allowed officers to engage in sexual contact with women suspected of being involved in the commercial sex trade, according to a Justice Department report.

The agency found that the Police Department used excessive force and allowed undercover officers to have sexual contact with women suspected of being prostitutes.

Hector Pineiro, an attorney from Worcester, joins WBUR's Morning Edition to discuss the Justice Department report on alleged abuses by the city's police.

While Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty said he’s taking the findings of a revelatory Department Of Justice report on the Worcester Police Department “very seriously,” he also wants to see the data behind the report.

A Worcester pastor shares his troubling encounter with police, echoing a DOJ report on civil rights violations, and calls for community oversight.