citizen oversight of police

Models for OversightCivilian control over police

Survey of the options

● Over 100 jurisdictions have boards

● At least 2 professional organizations

● Complaints in Ferguson must go through city manager

Types of Oversight

● Ombudsman - Liaison for public

● Police Auditor - Reviews police investigation

● Independent complaint body

● Mix of several

Ombudsman

● Role of “Facilitator”

● Interfaces with public and police

● Makes recommendations only

● What Ferguson currently has… sort of

Police Auditor

● Reviews police worko Could oversee investigationso Could review police conclusions

● Staffed by volunteers or professionals

Independent Complaint Body● Receives complaints

● Conducts investigations

● Acts on conclusions

● Best oversight, but expensive

● Model for FBI investigation (sort of)

Hybrid Models

● Most include voluntary mediation

● Some put civilians in police dept.

● Mix volunteers, elected officials and professional career investigators

BudgetMoney can buy rights enforcement

Paid Staff costs money

● Professional investigators are paid

● Reducing police department usually not an option

● Even elected officials want some pay

Budget allocation tradeoff

● Minimum mandatory budget included in act may not reflect need

● Leaving it up to city will make funding political and eventually gut the operation when money is tight.

IndependenceThe measure of confidence

Personal Conflicts

● Family, financial and close personal relationships cloud objectivity.

● Interest in positions often tied to personal relationships

● Exactly what types of conflicts are a problem defined by community

Police Investigation

● Partial police officers might not look very hard at colleagues

● Even with review, key evidence may be suppressed.

● Independent investigators are expensive.

Ongoing Political Will

● Political will is hot now

● Will it hold?

● What happens when people are more concerned about budget?

Career Path

● Investigator is a step in a long career path

● Even independent investigators may have history/future in law enforcement

AuthorityThe teeth that the board has

Compel Witnesses

● Important for investigations

● Without this, must “ask nicely”

Officer Discipline

● Beyond “recommendation”

● The board’s ability to affect raises and promotions

● Causes officers to take board decisions seriously

Filing charges

● Rare authority

● Enables investigators to act immediately

● Bypasses grand jury process

Organizational Mandate● Legislation

o Fast and relatively easyo Subject to shifting will

● Ballot Initiativeo Hard to accomplisho Resistant to transient political will

Other Issues & Challenges

Qualification of Board

● Should board have specific skills?o Attended police academyo Maintain certification with oversight

board organizationo Civil Rights Lawyers

● May raise conflict issues

Access to Process

● Complicated forms are obstacle to reporting

● Access to forms (hours, location) are obstacle to reporting

● Knowledge of how to file can be hard to find

Claim Preclusion

● If a board judges has authorityo All civil rights cases must go through

processo Separate / independent investigation

limited

ReferencesShielded from Justice: New York: Civilian Complaint Review Boardcpp_policeoversight_report.pdfCivilian Oversight Survey.pdfPolice Assessment Resource Center"Legislative Oversight of Police: Lessons Learned from an Investigation" by Mary M. ChehPolice Oversight in the United States Final 108.doc - 10-19 altus conf paper.pdfNACOLE » The National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law EnforcementCivilian Complaint Review BoardCitizen Review of Police : Approaches and Implementation ((Issues and Practices) NCJ184430) - 184430.pdfFighting Police Abuse: A Community Action Manual | American Civil Liberties UnionAgency Profile-Kansas City-MO » NACOLENLG: Northeasternreport12-05.pdfSF Office of Citizen Complaints - Berkeley Law podcast