[Imc-radio] headline 4

[Sarah Lazare]

via ucimc.org
The Champaign County Coalition for Citizen Police Review will meet Thursday 
Jan. 6, 6:30-7:30 pm, Douglass Branch Library, and Thursday Jan. 20, 
6:30-7:30, Douglass Branch Library, to work on spring campaign in Urbana.

In the wake of this year’s controversies between local police and community 
members -- Tasers, eavesdropping, the Unity March and now jail suicides -- 
Champaign County residents are reviving an idea that supporters say is high 
on the “duh” factor.

It’s the idea that no government agency, especially one with heavily armed 
officers and broad authority to intervene in the lives of ordinary people, 
can operate without direct citizen oversight. At least not in a democracy.

Urbana mayoral candidate Laurel Prussing agrees, as do several Urbana City 
Council members and candidates for office, all of whom have either been 
involved directly or expressed some level of support for the idea.

The Champaign County Coalition for Citizen Police Review counts as 
supporting organizations a wide range of local groups, from the Champaign 
County NAACP to the Common Ground Food Co-op, from St Luke’s CME Church to 
the local Green Party, and from the American Association of University Women 
(AAUW) to the Anti-War Anti-Racism Effort (AWARE).

According to the group’s website, “A citizen police review board is an 
impartial body of ordinary citizens, independent of the police department, 
empowered to receive and investigate citizen complaints against police 
officers and to perform other oversight functions.”

Activities listed on the site for the review board include:
-- Evaluating citizen complaints about police conduct.
-- Examining policies and procedures of the police department to ensure that 
they genuinely serve the interests of justice for all in the community.
-- Issuing periodic reports to the community about complaint resolution and 
about police activities and procedures.

At the present time, complaints about police conduct are investigated 
internally in both Champaign and Urbana. In other words, the agency 
investigates itself. This situation, supporters say, discourages citizen 
input and promotes secrecy.

A citizen review, on the other hand, would not only promote openness in 
government but also inspire increased confidence in the system by avoiding 
the public perception of bias associated with the internal process.