[CPRB] revising propaganda

[Esther Patt]

Here's a link to the Hennepin Lawyer which had an article 
about Citizen Police Review Boards.  Minneapolis (in 
Hennepin County, MN) has a review board in place.

http://hennepin.timberlakepublishing.com/article.asp?
article=1034&paper=1&cat=147

Esther Patt

---- Original message ----
>Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 15:46:35 -0500
>From: "Morton K. Brussel" <brussel4 at insightbb.com>  
>Subject: Re: [CPRB] revising propaganda  
>To: Ricky Baldwin <baldwinricky at yahoo.com>
>Cc: coalition policereview <cprb at lists.chambana.net>
>
>Looks pretty good from here, but somewhat ignores the 
justification  
>for CPRB (The justifications cited are mostly in the 
abstract.). One  
>could cite various instances, notably when the police act 
as agents  
>of local, state and federal government (or corporations) 
against  
>constitutionally legal and peaceful protests. (In NYC, San 
Francisco,  
>LA, etc.). The ACLU has been involved in several of such 
instances.  
>Perhaps you wish to stay clear of all that, but then you 
become  
>vulnerable to those who say that things are fine as they 
are.
>
>--mkb
>
>On Jul 31, 2006, at 3:13 PM, Ricky Baldwin wrote:
>
>> Maybe this is a good time to justtake a look at our
>> Coalition pamphlet explaining what a CPRB is, etc.  I
>> updated it very minimally (see below) for the public
>> hearing last week, mainly to reflect some changes in
>> the Mayor's Taskforce proposal since the 2002 draft
>> proposal, and to fit it into the format I was
>> printing.
>>
>> But have a look.  Anything we need to change?
>> Language?  Tone?  Info?  See what you all think!
>> Ricky
>>
>>
>> What is the proposed Citizen Police Review Board?
>>
>> A citizen police review or oversight board is an
>> impartial body, independent of the police department
>> itself, that is empowered to receive and investigate
>> citizen complaints against police officers, and to
>> perform other oversight functions.
>>
>> In the case of specific complaints, the proposed board
>> will investigate the complaints, make findings, and
>> recommend disciplinary action to the Chief of Police
>> and to other appropriate government officials. The
>> board will also evaluate patterns of complaints, as
>> well as police policies and procedures, and recommend
>> policy changes as deemed necessary or desirable. And
>> the board will issue periodic reports to the community
>> documenting the police department's responsiveness, as
>> well as statistical breakdowns with regard to types of
>> complaints, findings, location by district, and the
>> number of officers with a history of multiple
>> complaints.
>>
>> Why is a Citizen Police Review Board needed?
>>
>> The police department of a community is arguably the
>> most important of the municipal services. The police
>> are certainly the most visible of any of the
>> government agencies, interacting with citizens more
>> directly and more intensively than any other branch of
>> government. Given the extent of the powers delegated
>> to police officers by law, and the pressures under
>> which they are frequently required to function, any
>> abuse of those powers necessarily results in more
>> serious consequences for the individual citizen and
>> for the community as a whole. It is vital that the
>> police department be a trustworthy and respected
>> organization.
>>
>> Historically, complaints against police officers have
>> been investigated and evaluated by the police
>> department itself. This process is inherently flawed
>> both in theory and in practice. It tends to discourage
>> citizen input and to promote secrecy, both of which
>> run counter to accepted notions of democracy. As a
>> consequence, many citizens lack confidence that the
>> police can serve as an effective check on their own
>> behavior.
>>
>> The latter part of the twentieth century gave rise to
>> a groundswell of grassroots community initiatives to
>> create independent citizen police review or oversight
>> boards, whose purpose was to review complaints
>> regarding police behavior and policies, and to make
>> disciplinary and policy recommendations on the basis
>> of citizen input.
>>
>> We share the belief that, under current law, the most
>> effective means of ensuring police accountability to
>> the public, and fostering a positive police-community
>> relationship, is an impartial oversight board composed
>> of citizens from all neighborhoods and walks of life.
>>
>> We further believe that such a board is totally
>> consistent with and supportive of the Urbana Police
>> Department's own mission statement, which includes the
>> following:
>>
>> “We pledge to help create a safer environment in which
>> to live, work, and recreate through problem solving
>> and collaboration with our citizens.”
>>
>> “The public should have input into policy development
>> which directly impacts quality of life.”
>>
>> Are such Citizen Police Review Boards effective?
>>
>> A number of studies have examined the effectiveness of
>> various models of citizen police review boards. In
>> general, the success of an oversight board has been
>> found to be contingent on the degree of its true
>> independence from the police department, the measure
>> of genuine commitment to its success on the part of
>> all interested parties in the community, and the depth
>> of public trust in its effectiveness.
>>
>> The board must also have a mandate to make policy
>> recommendations, so that it is involved in structural
>> reform and not merely in the discipline of individual
>> officers. Our proposed model addresses and
>> incorporates all of these factors.
>>
>> What are some of the features of the proposed Citizen
>> Police Review Board?
>>
>> 1	Seven unpaid Board members representing diverse
>> constituencies in the city.
>>
>> 2	An advisor on police procedure appointed from the
>> Urbana Police Department.
>>
>> 3	Training for Board members in police department
>> policies and procedures.
>>
>> 4	A place to file complaints outside of the police
>> department itself
>>
>> 5	Funding adequate for proper investigation of
>> complaints, including the hiring of an independent
>> investigator on an ad hoc basis as the Board deems
>> necessary.
>>
>> 6	Subpoena power to compel witness testimony, to be
>> used as the Board deems necessary.
>>
>> 7	A mediation option available for use in lieu of a
>> full Board investigation of a citizen complaint.
>>
>> How will members of the Board be selected?
>>
>> The current proposal calls for a Board consisting of
>> seven unpaid citizen members, chosen by the Mayor with
>> the advice and consent of the City Council. The
>> nomination process would be an open one, with
>> structures in place to ensure that any citizen can
>> apply. Candidates for nomination would not be city
>> employees or law enforcement personnel.
>>
>> The members of the Board would choose their own
>> chairperson, and promulgate their own rules of
>> procedure in accordance with their legislative
>> mandate.
>> How will the Board be funded?
>>
>> The Board would be funded with tax revenue from the
>> general operating budget of the city. We anticipate,
>> and it has been demonstrated in other cities, that the
>> expense of the proposed Board would be offset at least
>> in part by fiscal savings elsewhere in the budget.
>> We would also expect a reduction in the cost to the
>> city of civil litigation against the police, as
>> increased accountability to the public should result
>> in less misconduct by police and fewer lawsuits filed
>> by citizens. Moreover, cities that show due diligence
>> in working to increase police accountability are less
>> likely to be found negligent when faced with a civil
>> suit.
>>
>> To whom will the Board be accountable?
>>
>> The Board would be created by municipal ordinance as a
>> separate office within the city government. It would
>> be accountable to the City Council, to whom is
>> delegated the power of legislative and budgetary
>> authority. Ultimately, the Board would be accountable
>> to the citizens of Urbana, who elect the members of
>> the City Council.
>>
>> For more: www.prairienet.org/cprb
>>
>>
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