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Many complainants just want to be able to <br />express their anger or concern face to face with <br />the officer in an impartial setting without being <br />cut off, and that is all they need. <br />—Jackie DeBose, Berkeley Police Review <br />Commission board member <br />3. Help hold the police or sheriff’s department account- <br />able for officers’ behavior. <br />I felt I had done my civic duty. This was a young <br />cop [I complained about]. I coach people all the <br />time [at his job], so I wanted this officer to get bet- <br />ter supervision and training so that in a similar <br />event he would not engage in the same misconduct. <br />I felt good; the officer got the direction he needed. <br />—a complainant <br />[R]eview [by the Police Review Commission] of <br />this incident [in which the commission exonerat- <br />ed officers of a complaint that their use of <br />excessive force resulted in a man’s death] <br />prompted development of a new Berkeley Police <br />Department Training and Information Bulletin <br />regarding the risk of asphyxiation during four- <br />point restraints. Development of this bulletin <br />was a pivotal issue in bringing closure for the <br />family and ensuring that their tragedy had some <br />positive effect. <br />—Robert Bailey, former assistant city manager, <br />Berkeley <br />Potential benefits to police and sheriff’s <br />departments <br />As summarized in exhibit 1–2, police and sheriff’s <br />department personnel have identified several possible <br />benefits citizen oversight can provide them, depending on <br />the type of oversight procedure adopted. Oversight can: <br />1. Improve the department’s relationships and image <br />with the community by: <br />• Helping to establish and maintain the depart- <br />ment’s reputation for fairness and firmness in <br />addressing allegations of police misconduct. <br />The board takes a lot of pressure or criticism off IA <br />and the chief because citizens are making the deci- <br />sions about misconduct and the department can’t be <br />accused of a coverup. <br />—an IA commander <br />C HAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION <br />8 <br />EXHIBIT 1–2. POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF CITIZEN OVERSIGHT FOR POLICE AND <br />SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENTS <br />Law enforcement managers and line officers report that citizen oversight can provide a number of benefits to police <br />and sheriff’s departments depending on the type of oversight procedure adopted: <br />1. Improve the department’s relationship and image with the community by: <br />a. Helping to establish and maintain its reputation for investigating alleged officer misconduct with fairness and firmness. <br />b. Helping to reduce community concerns about possible police coverups in high-profile cases. <br />2. Increase the public’s understanding of police work, including the use of force. <br />3. Promote the goals of community policing. <br />4. Improve the quality of the department’s internal investigations of alleged misconduct. <br />5. Reassure the public that the department’s internal investigations of citizen complaints and its process for disciplining officers <br />already are thorough and fair. <br />6. Help subject officers feel vindicated. <br />7. Help discourage misconduct among some officers. <br />8. Improve department policies and procedures.