Item A: Police Oversight System - Roles and Expectations

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Police Complaint System and Civilian Oversight Recommendations personnel may need to run a records check to identify involved personnel and gather other incident information necessary for the complaint categorization. If an outstanding warrant is discovered during this process,intake personnel will have the discretion to notify the complainant of this fact so that the warrant can be resolved without risk of arrest. In situations where the complaintis of a serious nature, the fact that an outstanding warrant exists will not delay processing the complaint. Similarly, if an outstanding warrant for certain crimes (e.g., a violent felony) is discovered, intake staff will notify police of this fact when appropriate. Procedures will be developed to provide guidance for when intake staff should take more direct action on an outstanding warrant. The Police Commission recognizes that records checks are a routine portion of all police o investigations, including internal investigations. However, as only a subset of all complaints will require a formal investigation, removing a records check from the initial complaint intake process significantly reduces the risk that filing a complaint will trigger an arrest. Since a records check will occur if the complaint proceeds to the investigation phase, public information on the complaint process should explain that as part of investigating the complaint, any outstanding warrants will be identified. The language should encourage people who are concerned about the possibility of an outstanding warrant to access the auditor’s office to filea complaint and/or to clear their warrants with the Court before filing a complaint.The actual language selected should attempt to balance transparency with other values such as neutrality, open access, safety and accountability. Alternative Resolution to Complaints The commission believes that a successful mediation program should be an integral part of the redesigned complaint process. As such, commissioners have expressed a commitment to modernize and expand the current program to ensure complainants are informed of the complaint resolution options available to them and to maximize opportunities for alternative resolution. Over the years, the department has worked with the Human Rights Program to develop a mediation and advocacy program that has had a number of successes and is not significantly different in its function than the model programsexamined nationally. However, there is a sense that the existing program has not reached its potential and after several years in effect, may benefit from an evaluation. The commission supports the current practices of offering formal mediations, facilitated conversations, and/or advocacy support for certain complaints to promote understanding of interactions and promote respectful communication and accountability for each person’s actions. The commission agreed at its May 12, 2005, meeting to appoint a task force of Police Commission, Human Rights Commission, and community stakeholders to look at current practices and make proposals regarding the enhancing the role of mediation and advocacy in the complaint process. Specifically, the task team will determine which entity should manage the mediation program and coordinate actual mediations, whether mediators should be hired on contract, whether mediation should preclude the use of the regular complaint process, and how community advocates may best be utilized in the process. The task teamwill include interested commission members, HRC staff and volunteers, and other key stakeholders, such as Community Mediation Services. 16