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o affect the role of the Human Rights Program in the mediation process. MAlT's position is not intended to diminish or critique the. work of staff and volunteers who .have, over the years, championed alternative complaint resolution options and provided trained mediators to facilitate dialogue between cQmmunity memberS and police representatives. I nsteadl it is. believed that coordination of mediations by an outside entity, such as the A~ditor's Office, will. result in a clearer delineation of roles. Another issue closely related to building program credibility was the establishment of minimum qualifications for the practitioners selected to mediate police complaints. Based on a review of other police ~omplaint mediation programs, the following min~mum training and experience thresholds were recommended: . . Mediators' assigned work under this program must demonstrate the completion of a basic mediation cours~ of at least 30 hours from a reput~ble mediation/conflict resolution training organization and have conducted a minimum. of twenty cases as lead.or co-mediator. 1(,..." ') 'l In addition to minimum qualifications, MAlT recommended that mediation services be retained through a City contract with several different practitioners (a pool of 3-5 mediators should be adequate to start). Recruiting procedures should strive to result in a diverse applicant pool. Similar to Portland's application and selection process, the application process could consist of a s~ort letter of interest and written response to questions that demonstrate: 1) the candidates' skills and experience in mediation' and in working with diverse populations, and 2) how past training and experi~nce would be useful in handling conflicts between law enforcement and community. memb~rs. Three references who can attest to' the candidates' abili~es should be required. MAlT further recommended that a panel of stakeholders interview prospective police complaint mediators as part .of the selection process. Stakeholders can include, for example, an experienced mediator, EPD representative(s), HRC/PC members and/or other . community members. The interview process should seek to identify people who have the ability to build a rapport with disparate individuals and instill confidence in both complainants and officers. ~:. Mediator T~aining and Compensation' Regarding additional training, it was recommended that those candidates who' are successful in the application and selection process participate in a 10 - 15 hour training th~t will help orient them to the Euge.rie Police department and culture, address diversity, privilege and power differential issues, and clarify procedures and expectations specific to the police complaint mediation program. It may' also be helpful for those in the mediator pool to observe. a police complaint .mediation session in Portland, if at all possible. It was not MAlT's intent to limit the pool of po.tential mediators to attorneys who include mediation services as part of their practice, as often these skiUs are not directly transferable to mediating police complaints.. Instead, it is anticipated that there will be a qualified pool of. mediators wh~ would be interested in working these cases on a volunteer basis. At the same time, it. is recommended that a nominal payment is made to the 'volunteer mediators. This. reinforces that the mediators are "paid professionals" and may facilitate more responsiveness to the mediators' performance evaluations PaQe 7