Document of Interest Provided By Councilmember Hamann on Civilian Review Boards

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Settlement to perform the citizen oversight function because it appeared to be the most capable organization in the city for conducting an impartial review of police behavior. Although most of the center’s funding comes from the New York State Unified Court System, CRB’s budget is a line item in the police department’s budget. In 1997, the police department submitted 26 completed cases out of 131 for CRB review, or 20 percent. The 26 cases involved 80 allegations. For the first 9 months of 1998, CRB reviewed 58 cases involving 141 allegations. CRB sustained 23 percent of cases in 1997 but only 7 percent during the first 9 months of 1998. Procedure Exhibit 2–12 shows CRB’s review process, which is discussed in detail in the following section. Intake Citizens may file complaints by mail or in person at the Center for Dispute Settlement office as well as at city hall or police headquarters. The center received nine complaints in 1997, most referred by the mayor’s office, and five complaints during the first 9 months of 1998. After screening to make sure the case has merit or is suitable for conciliation (see following), the center for- wards the complaints to the police department’s internal affairs unit for investigation. The vast majority of com- plainants file directly with the police department. IA sends for CRB review all investigations of cases that involve: • Charges of use of excessive force. • Conduct that, if proven, would constitute a crime. • Other matters the chief chooses to refer to CRB. During or after completion of each internal affairs inves- tigation, IA calls Todd Samolis, the CRB coordinator, to notify him to set up and schedule a panel to review the completed case. Hearings Each CRB panel consists of three volunteers selected from a pool of 15–20 individuals who are certified medi- ators, have attended a shortened version of a police acad- emy (see below), and receive special training to function as panelists. One of the three panelists is a chairperson who facilitates the review. CRB held as few as two panels in January 1998 and as many as 13 in June; the modal number (occurring in each of 5 months in 1998) was 7. C ITIZEN R EVIEW OF P OLICE: APPROACHES AND I MPLEMENTATION 47 EXHIBIT 2–12. ROCHESTER CITIZEN OVERSIGHT PROCESS Center for Dispute Settlement conducts mediation Center sends results to IA Mediation successful Mediation unsuccessful If chief disagrees with panel finding, panel may appeal to the mayor and city council If chief sustains finding of IA or CRB, he sends case through chain of command for discipline CRB sends its finding to the chief and district commanders along with any case-related recommendations regarding policy, remedial training, and investigation procedure Panel requests further investigation by IA before rendering finding CRB panel reviews case IA determines whether case is appropriate for CRB review IA investigates complaint and develops finding Center forwards case to IA Citizen files with Center for Dispute Settlement Citizen files with IA Accepted Refused Mediation offered