Document of Interest Provided By Councilmember Hamann on Civilian Review Boards

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Oversight makes the department’s job easier because, if we couldn’t point to the board’s sus- tained rate of 10 percent, we would be criticized and accused of a coverup [because our internal rate would be just as low]. —a deputy chief • Helping reduce or eliminate community con- cerns regarding specific high-profile incidents of alleged misconduct. Two Rochester police officers arrested two indi- viduals on drug-dealing charges. The mother of one of them claimed the two youths had been innocently walking down the street when the officers approached them. One officer got into a tussle with the mother’s son and, the mother said, threw her son through a store window. Some members of the community were outraged at what they felt was police brutali- ty. When the Civilian Review Board [CRB] heard the case, it learned that the two men had drugs in their possession. In addi- tion, the store owner testified that the officers had bent over backwards to be polite to the men—and that the son had pushed the officer into the store window. Because the CRB exoner- ated the officers, the community calmed down. —Andrew Thomas, Executive Director, Rochester Center for Dispute Settlement We love being able to send cases to the board because we get less pressure from liberal groups about not properly disciplining officers. —an IA commander 2. Increase public understanding about the nature of police work, such as the occasions when officers need to use force. Help the public develop realistic expecta- tions regarding actions officers are allowed to take— or departments have the personnel to take—to abate crime and disorder. 3. Promote the goals of community policing. According to the Berkeley Police Review Commission 1996 annual report: Community Involved Policing, especially its “Problem Solving” method of organiz- ing police work, depends heavily on the involvement of especially those citizens who are demographically and geographi- cally closest to crime and criminals. Therefore, it is undermined by hostility generated in the normal unfolding of police/citizen interactions at precisely the point at which it needs the most support. Some police administrators agree. Community policing is related to citizen review. It’s another way to communicate with the public, another source of community input. —Fred Lau, Chief, San Francisco Police Department C ITIZEN R EVIEW OF P OLICE: APPROACHES AND I MPLEMENTATION 9 ABOLISHING CITIZEN OVERSIGHT WILL NOT SAVE A POLICE OR SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT MONEY Getting rid of the oversight body will not save the police or sheriff’s department money.When the Minneapolis City Council was considering abolishing the Citizen Police Review Authority (CRA), Lt. Robert Skomra, the IA com- mander at the time, examined the number of cases CRA handled. Skomra determined that, if CRA disappeared, the police department would have to find the funds to at least double and possibly triple the number of existing IA investigators.The department would also have had to find desk space for the new investigators. Minneapolis police Chief Robert Olson agreed:“If the CRA were abolished, I would have to hire additional IA investigators.” Community policing is related to citizen review. It’s another way to communicate with the public, another source of community input.