Item B: Police Commission Annual Report and Work Plan

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IV. Next Steps The commission held a process session and work planning meeting in May, in large part to trouble-shoot any procedural issues and emphasize commission processes deemed beneficial. One central theme emerged during the day regarding policy review. Because of the time- intensive work on the Mental Health Crisis Response Committee (which, in large part, was a result of an emerging issue) and extensive research on the draft Taser policy, work on the Policy Screening and Review Committee was scaled back. However, upon completion of these two major projects, the commission devoted more time to policy review in June. Several policies that the department will be revising were reviewed by the committee, including governance policies, child abuse, and mental illness. The committee decided to focus on child abuse and mental illness as those were of highest importance to community values. The second theme revolved around how to better engage the public in the Police Commission’s work and activities. To remedy this concern, the commission suggested the creation of a Public Outreach Committee. As part of this committee, the commission hopes to hold regular public forums and community events to work collaboratively with the public and encourage community policing. The Police Commission continues its commitment to maintaining a highly productive and effective policy body that seeks continual improvement and addresses urgent issues affecting the community as they arise. The commission has pledged to maintain its transparency as a public body by soliciting public input at every meeting and while working on policy changes. As described in this Annual Report, the commission has shown due diligence in meeting its work plan objectives from FY08 and successfully contributed to policy recommendations that will directly affect the community at large. Page 7 of 7 2008 Police Commission Annual Report