CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD FOR TUPELO PD?

[TF Admin]

With all the recent threads online, speculations, rumors, and general talk about misconduct by officers, what are your thoughts about forming a Citizen Review Board?

A CRB would investigate complaints against the Police Department and give it's findings to the Chief of Police or Police Commisioner.

Here's a link for the Las Vegas Metro PD's Citizen Review Board that gives great information on what a CRB actually does.

www.citizenreviewboard.com/english.htm

TFADMIN

[jumpmaster]

do you think the chief would go along with it.

[TF Admin]

Well, if the public wants it, and puts enough pressure on the key player's, then I would say yes. It will be a long road to make it happen, but it is doable. The good thing about this type of Board is that it is protection for both officer's and citizens. It promotes ethics within the department, and it gives the public a boost in confidence in the PD.

I'll see if I can find any statistics on the web, good or bad, and post them here.

TFADMIN

[TF Admin]

Here is one example of a proposal for a Citizen's Oversight Board from Tacoma, Washington.

www.ci.tacoma.wa.us/cronews/CitizenOversightProposal.pdf

TFADMIN

[TF Admin]

Here is a fascinating report about Use of Force Complaints and their dispositions. This information was compiled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics a division of the US Department of Justice.

This report is just on USE OF FORCE complaints, and according to it, if a department had a CRB they recieved MORE Use of Force Complaints. So I may have to retract my earlier statement.

Take a look for yourself.

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ccpuf.pdf

TFADMIN

[TF Admin]

Two more quick links that I have found very interesting with regards to adopting a CRB.

First, the link below will take you to a review/analysis of CRB's. This is really good reading and easy to digest. My take on this is that how the Board is initially implemented will determine the effectiveness of any of it's findings.

www.greens.org/s-r/39/39-10.html

Next, the below link will take you to The National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement.

www.nacole.org/

TFADMIN

[rockinrickus]

Hey It get's My Vote, YES..........

[All Seeing Eye]

Interesting proposal TF. I think this is something we should all consider. I am going to go through this info you have posted. This seems right up my alley. ASE

[tbritt]

I know most of us here also frequent the Journal forum where this is also a hot debate. I am 100% absolutely, unequivably, behind the implemation of a CRB...however, the public (you know, US) has to realize how important the placement of individuals on this board is. It is IMPERATIVE to its flourishing and survival, not to mention its effectiveness, to appoint people capable of both understanding the innerworkings of the PD and making unbiased opinions about officers and policies. A group of hotheads bent on policing the police just so they could gloat about it to their buddies (ie Tommy Doty) would be disastrous for all parties involved...the CRB would most likely be disbanded, the TPD would be able to say, "We told you so...", and the biggest loser is once again US. I truly hope the CRB will be implemented and if it is I will pray to the heavens that the right people are put into place to make the changes that are so desperately and obviously needed.

[motorcop]

jumpmaster said:

do you think the chief would go along with it.

Would that be Chief Chaffin or "chief" thomas?

[krisco]

A CRB would be a great idea, as long as it is used as a tool of protection, and not as a tool of power. We all know what I mean here. It would be just as easy for the CRB to be another avenue for misconduct, just as well as the police department is, or can be.