[CPRB] media assault on Champaign PRB underway

[Ricky Baldwin]

What a surprise!  The News-Gazette is agin' it!

Looks like we need some letters in response...

Ricky

--- Randall Cotton <recotton at earthlink.net> wrote:

> I had to resend this because it bounced at first, so
> where I say "today", it
> really means yesterday (Wednesday).
> R
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Randall Cotton" <recotton at earthlink.net>
> To: <cprb at lists.cu.groogroo.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 4:10 PM
> Subject: media assault on Champaign PRB underway
> 
> 
> : Witness today's editorial in the News Gazette,
> followed by a letter to the
> : editor that
> : sounds like it's from a vested interest (anyone
> know who Michael Cook is?). On
> : the letter to the editor - the ironic thing is
> that Finney actually is *not*
> OK
> : with the proposed PRB bubbling up from the
> Champaign Police Community
> Relations
> : Committee (the NG's story was a bit off the mark
> on that).
> :
> : R
> :
> : Police review board plan raises problems
> : Wednesday October 11, 2006
> : The city of Urbana has been considering for months
> and is expected to pass
> soon
> : a proposal to create a citizens review board to
> oversee its police department.
> : So perhaps it's no surprise that the city of
> Champaign is in the early stages
> of
> : doing the same thing.
> : A subcommittee of the city's Police Community
> Relations Committee recently
> : issued a report outlining the process by which a
> review board would operate,
> and
> : the matter appears certain to go to the city
> council for consideration.
> : The idea of a police review board is not
> necessarily a negative. But the
> : creation of a review board could be a huge
> negative. It all depends on how the
> : board is run and, most importantly, who sits on
> the board.
> : The idea is born of a desire to reassure members
> of the minority community
> that
> : the city's goal is honest, fair-minded law
> enforcement with members of no
> group
> : receiving any better or any worse treatment than
> members of any other group.
> : That, unfortunately, is a tough sell to people who
> have long viewed police
> : either with suspicion or fear. Equally unfortunate
> is that there's no
> guarantee
> : that creating a police review board, operating
> under strict confidentiality
> : guidelines, will help much.
> : There is a huge practical problem involving boards
> of this nature, and it
> : involves taking people who have no real knowledge
> or understanding of police
> : work and putting them in a position to review what
> individual officers did or
> : should have done in tense, time-pressured
> situations.
> : How would they know? How should they know? Why ask
> them to judge?
> : The last question is the easiest to answer.
> : They're asked to judge because some people don't
> trust the current complaint
> and
> : discipline process, which is overseen by Police
> Chief R.T. Finney and City
> : Manager Steve Carter. But those two or their
> successors also would be involved
> : in a review board process, so how would it be any
> better?
> : The best way for police to build bridges to any
> group is to maintain open
> : communications, to visit, to answer questions, to
> explain and to listen. A
> : police review board would do nothing except
> duplicate an existing discipline
> : process that already is viewed in some quarters
> with skepticism.
> :
> : *******************
> : letter to the editor:
> : Police chief masters the art of surrender
> : Wednesday October 11, 2006
> : When local, vocal self-serving factions that do
> not represent the majority of
> : Champaign citizens and the valid interests of the
> city target the police
> : department with unreasonable demands and unfounded
> accusations, the immediate
> : conduct that I have come to expect from Police
> Chief R.T. Finney is for him to
> : promptly become a quasi-lackey for these groups.
> : It is obvious that he has a self-preservation
> predisposition that limits his
> : ability to represent and support the legitimate
> interests of the city, the
> : police department and the community majority.
> : Chief Finney's premature sanctioning of a civilian
> police review board before
> : the city leaders have researched the matter and
> have reached a decision is
> : inappropriate and self-serving.
> : A review board comprised of citizens who, most
> likely, will not have the
> : essential knowledge to enable them to comprehend
> the often overwhelming
> : complexity of law enforcement, and competently
> evaluate a police-related
> : judgment and action, will accomplish nothing but
> add a dysfunctional layer of
> : bureaucracy to the city.
> : Eventually, it will complicate and corrupt an
> ethical investigative and
> : disciplinary system that already has an effective
> complaint process and
> several
> : layers of oversight, including the criminal and
> civil courts.
> : When the demand for civilian oversight is not
> reasonably justified, beware of
> a
> : veiled desire to engage in personal ax grinding,
> politically coercive
> practices
> : and prejudice.
> : Each time the handcuffs on a law enforcement
> agency are tightened, the
> security
> : of the community diminishes.
> : MICHAEL COOK
> :
> 
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> 


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