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create the perception—as might the use of current or for-
<br />mer police officers—that investigations may be biased.
<br />Training
<br />In Minneapolis, the director trains new investigators,
<br />who then sit in on cases handled by the senior case inves-
<br />tigator. Investigators have attended inservice training
<br />conducted by police officers and others in use of force,
<br />verbal judo, search warrants, cultural diversity, and domes-
<br />tic abuse; they also have participated in seminars with a
<br />professional training firm on investigation, interviewing,
<br />and interrogation techniques. In San Francisco, the Office
<br />of Citizen Complaints’(OCC’s) director, chief, and senior
<br />investigators, using a standardized training manual OCC
<br />managers developed, lead 8 to 10 full-day training ses-
<br />sions, followed by several weeks of working side by side
<br />with supervisors who monitor and correct their intake
<br />interviews, complaint analyses, witness searches, and offi-
<br />cer interviews. The office follows up with two to four
<br />trainings each month for all staff on a variety of subjects.
<br />Lisa Botsko, Portland’s first police auditor, developed a
<br />set of “Standards of Review” that advisory board mem-
<br />bers are instructed to follow in conducting reviews of IA
<br />cases and determining whether the oversight body needs
<br />to review a case. The standards include guidelines related
<br />to the filing and intake process for complaints, investiga-
<br />tions, and findings. (See appendix B.)
<br />Although she is not an investigator, San Francisco’s OCC
<br />policy and outreach specialist regularly attended recruit
<br />classes for 28 weeks at the police academy to improve
<br />OCC’s knowledge of police department basic training
<br />and to establish rapport between OCC and recruits. “The
<br />bank of knowledge built by attending the academy,” she
<br />said, “is vital to understanding police procedures.”
<br />Executive Director or Auditor
<br />The executive director (or auditor), along with the police
<br />chief or sheriff, is the single most important person for
<br />ensuring that the oversight process is effective. Hiring or
<br />appointing experienced individuals is critical to establish-
<br />ing or maintaining the system’s credibility. For example,
<br />Lisa Botsko, the Police Internal Investigations Auditing
<br />Committee’s auditor in Portland from 1993 to 1999, had
<br />been a private investigator for insurance fraud companies
<br />and had conducted high security clearance investigations
<br />for the Federal Government’s Office of Personnel
<br />Management in its Denver regional office.
<br />Most jurisdictions send out public notices when they are
<br />hiring an executive director, but they also rely heavily
<br />on word of mouth to help identify the most qualified
<br />individuals.
<br />• The Berkeley city manager hired Barbara Attard
<br />because of her reputation as an effective senior investi-
<br />gator for many years with San Francisco’s Office of
<br />Citizen Complaints.
<br />• In Minneapolis, the Civilian Police Review Authority
<br />(CRA) president hired Patricia Hughes, the current
<br />CRA executive director. The CRA chairperson, Daryl
<br />Lynn, had previously hired Hughes as a counselor in
<br />1975 to work in a pretrial diversion program. Later,
<br />Hughes became an attorney and Lynn moved to anoth-
<br />er position. Serendipitously, Lynn became a paralegal
<br />with the Minnesota State public defender’s office at a
<br />time when Hughes was an attorney in the office, so he
<br />was able to see her litigation skills firsthand.
<br />Word of mouth can be the best method of hiring staff
<br />because jurisdictions more easily can identify individuals
<br />who are likely to be appropriate for the position than
<br />if they have to rely exclusively on resumes and inter-
<br />views. Echoing what Police Chief Fred Lau said in San
<br />Francisco, Capt. Melvin Sears, the Orange County sher-
<br />iff’s board administrative coordinator, confirmed, “Who
<br />the people are is critical to the system’s working.”
<br />Notes
<br />1. In larger jurisdictions and in systems with a large vol-
<br />ume of cases, programs also will need administrative and
<br />clerical support staff as well as data entry personnel. If
<br />the system prosecutes cases, it will need attorneys. San
<br />Francisco’s Office of Citizen Complaints employs a poli-
<br />cy and outreach specialist.
<br />2. Walker, Samuel,Citizen Review Resource Manual,
<br />Washington, D.C.: Police Executive Research Forum,
<br />1995: 11.
<br />C HAPTER 4: STAFFING
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