[CPRB] Re: Police contract includes both allowances and limits on CPRB

[Ricky Baldwin]

Thanks, Brandon-

Yes, some of us - me included - are disappointed with
some of the limitations as we had heard of them. 
Thanks for your info on the subject.  It sheds a bit
more light on the main questions, which I think are:

Can the board function effectively if police officers
are not required to testify before it?

And, similarly, can the board be effective without the
ability to conduct it's own independent inquiries, if
this is what this language means?  In other words,, if
all the board can consider is the report of the police
department's own internal investigation, what's the
point?

I haven't had a chance to look over the contract, and
thanks for the link - so maybe I misunderstand what
we're talking about.  

I'm also concerned that the City apparently negotiated
over composition of the board - and agreed to a
completely unnecessary, arbitrary and unjust
limitation against convicted felons.  I'd be very
interested in the reasoning behind this.  Former
police officers are not barred from being on the
board, are they?  This is very disturbing to me, and
maybe to you, too.

The Coalition will be meeting most likely next Tuesday
night, January 9.   We'll be talking over these
issues, if you'd like to come, too.  I'll announce the
meeting as soon as I can reserve a room...

Thanks again-
Ricky
--- Brandon Bowersox <bowersox at prairienet.org> wrote:

> Dear CPRB coalition,
> 
> The City of Urbana and the Police union reached an
> agreement for a 4- 
> year contract.  The agreement approved by the union
> and by City  
> Council December 20 covers the usual topics -- such
> as pay and  
> benefits -- and it also includes both allowances and
> limitations on a  
> Civilian Police Review Board.  Since this community
> group first  
> advocated for a CPRB, I want you to be aware of the
> outcome and the  
> next steps.
> 
> As discussed on this list, the police union believed
> that a CPRB was  
> a negotiable subject in labor negotiations. 
> However, many others  
> felt it should not be negotiable because that would
> remove the  
> decision-making power from the Council and the
> citizens of Urbana to  
> choose how to create and operate a CPRB.  It is
> unfortunate that this  
> citizens group could not be made aware of activities
> for so many  
> months, but negotiations remained private to comply
> with labor law.   
> In the end, both sides made difficult compromises to
> reach a mutually- 
> agreeable contract which is now public.
> 
> The contract agreement includes the following
> CPRB-related provisions:
> - The City may adopt and maintain a CPRB.
> - An officer's appearance before the CPRB is
> optional.
> - No person convicted of a felony is eligible to
> serve on the CPRB.
> - The CPRB may not conduct independent third party
> investigations of  
> an officer's conduct.
> 
> I suggest you review details of the full agreement
> available here:
>   
>
http://www.city.urbana.il.us/Urbana/City_Council/Agendas/
> 
> 12-20-2006_sp/ordinance_2006-12-147.pdf
> See Page 37 (Article 22 CPRB) and Page 48 (Side
> Letter with further  
> CPRB provisions).
> 
> You may be disappointed in some of these
> limitations, as I am.  Keep  
> in mind that the City still contends that the CPRB
> issue is not a  
> bargaining issue, but the City had little choice but
> to discuss it  
> and make some commitments in order to reach a
> contract.  If  
> negotiations were forced into binding federal
> arbitration, we could  
> have ended up with no say in how the CPRB could
> function.  The City  
> will be bound by this contract for 4 years and I
> hope our experience  
> creating and operating the CPRB will be positive for
> the police- 
> community relationship.
> 
> Now that labor negotiations are completed, the next
> step will be  
> Council consideration of an Ordinance to create the
> CPRB.  Since a  
> majority of Council members support the CPRB, I
> expect the ordinance  
> will be discussed in earnest in the Spring and I
> expect the Council  
> will begin with the ordinance written by the Task
> Force.  The Council  
> is on holiday until January 8, and I expect that
> late January is the  
> earliest possible time the Council could discuss the
> CPRB.  I will  
> plan to email this list with notice if the item is
> placed on  
> Council's agenda.  Regards,
> 
> Brandon
> 
> Brandon Bowersox
> Democrat, Urbana City Council
> http://ward4.org/, bowersox at prairienet.org
> 
> 
> 
> 


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