Ask Mayor Slay to sign bill establishing a Police Civilian Oversight Board
BB 69 for Civilian Oversight passed in the Board of Aldermen Friday, March 10. As you probably know by now, we were unable to get a selection process for Civilian Review members which included elections. Nevertheless, we did decide that the bill gives the community the first steps toward police accountability. We will keep working for the elections component. In the meantime we are pushing for implementation of the bill. This requires approval by the mayor and the Board of Police Commissioners.
The first step is the mayor. He has announced that he will not sign the bill, but it seems that he will not veto it either. He has a third option of doing nothing, in which case the bill proceeds as if he signed it after twenty days. His refusal to sign, he says, is because the preamble has "inflammatory antipolice language". He seems to be referring to a clause which mentions the "blue wall of silence". We see this as a simple acknowledgment that the police, like any organization, tend to circle the wagons to protect their own. This preamble language has no practical effect regarding the functioning of the Board. In any case, the mayor never brought up this objection in several years of negotiation with Alderman Kennedy.
We are urging a call-in campaign to make sure the mayor feels enough pressure that he does not decide to veto the bill. Will you call his office and tell the mayor that he should sign the bill? Please call the mayor's office at 314-622-3201. Ask for Charles Bryson, the mayor's point person on this issue. If you can not speak directly with him, leave a message.
Community support and grassroots action have been the hallmark of this campaign. Thank you for all your support. Please help us push this through to a final victory.
If you have questions, call John Chasnoff at 314-413-0454.
Civilian Oversight Board Frequently Asked Questions
Published by Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression (CAPCR)
1. What is the proposed Civilian Oversight Board?
The Civilian Oversight Board is an independent body empowered to receive and investigate citizen complaints against subject police officers. It will make findings and recommend disciplinary action to the Chief of Police and the Police Commission. It will also recommend policy changes based on patterns of complaints. Finally, the Board will issue reports to the community documenting the department’s responsiveness to its recommendations, as well as giving statistical break downs as to types of complaints, findings, location by district, and the number of officers with multiple complaint records.
2. Why is a Civilian Oversight Board needed?
In the early twentieth century police began to create Internal Affairs offices to respond to community complaints. This system increased professionalism but has not been wholly effective. Internal Affairs often discourages complaints, is slow to respond, and reluctant to provide information. Many communities lack confidence that police can police themselves. The latter twentieth century has seen a movement to create citizen boards to review complaints and make policy recommendations based on patterns of complaints. In this way, the process can be made more accessible to citizens, more responsive, and long range institutional improvements can be made through policy reform.
3. Are such Boards effective?
Studies have looked at which models have been effective. Successful civilian oversight requires independence so that a truly new perspective is empowered. There must be adequate funding so that the system functions. The Board must have the ability to independently investigate complaints and compel testimony and documentation. Finally, the Board must have the mandate to make policy recommendations so that it is involved in structural reform, not just the discipline of indivdual subject officers. The most effective boards are ones which have these principles is place.
4. Isn’t the Police Commission already serving this function?
The Police Commissioners are ultimately responsible for both policy and discipline. They represent a form of civilian oversight. The creation of a Civilian Oversight Board will not alter their authority, as the Board has the power only to make recommendations. However, the Commission is often overwhelmed with budgetary matters and could use support with policy studies. Furthermore, the Commissioners do not formally hear and investigate complaints. The Civilian Oversight Board will provide greater focus to citizen input while giving guidance to the Commissioners on policy matters.
5. How will the members be selected?
There will be seven members. One will be appointed jointly by the Mayor and Police Commissioners. Two will be appointed by the chair of the Aldermanic Committee of Public Safety. Of these two, one must be a citizen active in a police watchdog organization. All appointments must be approved by the Board of Aldermen. Four members will be elected, based on groupings of Aldermanic wards. These groupings insure diversity, so that all parts of the community are represented.
6. Will the Board have subpoena powers?
As written, the Bill provides for subpoena powers. Because we must obtain these powers through the State Legislature, it will be amended so that subpoena powers will go into effect once they are granted by the State. Since our system of justice rightly requiires that no one be forced to testify against himself in criminal proceedings, involuntary testimony would not be passed on to prosecutors or used in criminal prosecution.
7. Will hearings be public?
The Board will be subject to the Missouri Sunshine Law. Personnel matters are exempted from Sunshine Law provisions and must be confidential. This will help insure the rights of subject officers, create a calmer climate for fact finding, and expedite the process so that cases are resolved in a timely matter. Public statistical reports are a crucial power of the Board, but can not refer to specific officers involved.
8. Will the Board replace the Internal Affairs Department (IAD)?
Internal Affairs will continue to exist as before. Citizens may still file complaints with IAD and have them investigated there. We project that citizens will opt to have their complaints examined by the Civilian Oversight Board and its civilian investigators, thus reducing duplication and removing a burden from IAD’s shoulders. IAD will also continue to investigate issues which arise internally rather than from citizen complaints. The legislation also recommends a mediation option which may reduce the need for extensive investigations by either body.
9. How will the Board be funded?
Monies must be found from the General Operating Budget of the City. These expenditures would pay for themselves in several ways. If the Internal Affairs’ burden of complaint investigations is indeed eased, some money could be transferred from this area. We would also expect great savings in the area of civil litigation against the police as greater accountability will result in less misconduct. Furthermore, cities which show due diligence in creating civilian police accountability are less likely to be found negligent when faced with a civil suit.
10. To whom will the Board be accountable?
The Board will be created as a separate office within city government. It will be accountable to the Board of Aldermen, who hold the power of the purse over it. Ultimately the Board will be accountable to the people of St. Louis who elect the majority of its members.
For More Information call 314-454-9005 or e-mail capcr_cob@hotmail.com
Join the Civilian Oversight Board Working Group
When Instead of War's leadership council convened on July 12th, 2003, one of the missions it gave to IOW's interim steering committee was the establishment of a working group to assist the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression (CAPCR) in their efforts to obtain passage of Board Bill 69, the aldermanic bill to establish a Civilian Oversight Board for the St. Louis Police Department. The Civilian Oversight Board Working Group is currently seeking individuals who would like to help us in that mission.
If you are interested in getting involved in the work of this important committee, please let us know by contacting Betsy at ereznicek@aol.com