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across the country where review boards have lost their effectiveness and the support of the community because of lack of staffing and funding that resulted in backlogs in the investigative process. The city should give serious consideration to whether the Police Commission should be transformed into, or assume the responsibility of, an external review board. The review team acknowledges that should it be decided that the Police Commission is capable of taking on this role, it would necessitate a change in the ordinance that established the commission and that the make- up of the commission may need to be reconsidered. Whatever the decision, the review board must act and be viewed as an effective tool in the improvement of police-community relations as opposed to an obstacle that furthers complicates the complaint investigative process and leaves officers in a state of limbo during the complaint investigation process. In doing so, it is also imperative that the specific rules and responsibilities of the existing Police and Human Rights Commissions be defined to assure that there is a single commission or review board responsible without referral or appeal to another commission or advisory body for the city council. Recommendation No. 5: Consider eliminating the following statement from the police department website4: "The department routinely checks the police records of the people with whom we have contact, including people who file complaints. If a Police Officer has contact with you and is aware of a warrant, he/she is legally compelled to arrest you. However, we do not want this to prevent you from giving us feedback. If you have an outstanding warrant, please clear it with the Court." See http://www.ci.eugene.or.us/police/Int_Affairs/aic.htm 21