ATTACHMENT 1

A QUICK REPORT

DATE:             February 23, 2009                  

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

                       

FROM:             Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Committee on Response to Petition for Civilian Review Board

                       

Council Members Present:       Sally Greene, Mark Kleinschmidt, Jim Merritt, Jim Ward

 

Staff Present:                           Roger Stancil

 

 

The Committee met and discussed the petition submitted to Council for the creation of a Civilian Review Board for the Police Department.  The Committee asked for more information, including the following:

·         The Town of Chapel internal review processes

·         Information from other cities with a review board, including qualifications for member, training and results

The committee also discussed the attached information from Town Manager Roger Stancil.

 

Without objection, the committee recommended that the Council proceed with asking the legislative delegation for enabling legislation for a review board for the police by adding Chapel Hill to an existing authority for Greensboro, Durham or Wilmington.

 

The committee agreed to meet during the week of March 23 and discuss the information developed as requested.

 

 

memorandum

 

to:

Council Committee on Response to Petition for Civilian Review Board

from:

Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager

subject:

Petition for a Review Board

date:

February 23, 2009

 

In response to the petition to the Council regarding a Citizen Review Board, and after conversation with several Council Members, I decided to enhance my perspective on this issue by talking with people with varying perspectives on the matter.  I talked with people from the community and from the criminal justice system.

 

In those discussions, I heard the following:

·         The core of the Chapel Hill Police Department is good and well respected

·         Chief Brian Curran is respected and is seen as being open to receiving and investigating complaints and taking appropriate action

·         There does not seem to be a “trend” of bad behavior by Chapel Hill Police Officers toward young African American males, or others

·         There do appear to be officers who, from time to time, seem to act in a way that is not consistent with community expectations

·         There do not appear to be a group of “rogue” officers but rather random examples of behavior inconsistent with community expectations

·         As the Town grows, and the community becomes increasingly aware it is not immune from the crime and violence that affects all communities, there is an uncertainty about what the current expectations are of our police officers

·         As the Town and the department grow, the police and community know each other less well so when there are problems, we are at a loss of how to discuss them

·         Some people expressed a concern about their observations of how people treat the police as much as how the police treat others

·         When people feel mistreated by the police, they may not be comfortable with a system of filing their concerns and having them investigated only by the police themselves

 

The thoughts I heard could be summarized perhaps into the following broad categories:

·         People want to continue to have confidence in their police department

·         People want a place to go when they have a problem involving the police when they are not satisfied with the police review of their concern

·         People want to be able to affect the expectations of policing in our community and the policies that establish those expectations

 

After reflecting on these comments, I developed the following ideas for thought and consideration:

·         Defining the question. A review board is an answer and I am not clear we have fully defined the question yet.  I suggest we first find a way to identify community concerns around this issue and then develop potential answers based on what we find.  I believe the concerns we identify will closely resemble the conclusions I summarize above.

·         Being Proactive. A review board conducts its work after an action.  I would like to focus energy on determining the community expectation of policing in Chapel Hill, the exchange of relevant information and perspectives and the mutual design of preventive solutions that shape behavior consistent with community expectations.  When we are clear about expectations, we can be clearer in any review of behavior and corrective actions taken consistent with expectations.

·         The System.  Consider all the actors in the system (residents, law enforcement, courts) and all aspects of the system (policy, procedures, training, review) when designing an answer.

·         Community Policing.  I believe a community policing attitude and approach is an effective approach for Chapel Hill. Although we talk about community policing, I believe there is much we can do to enhance that model as a mindset for all officers.  Community policing can easily become a program that is the responsibility of a few.  In fact, I set the establishment of community policing as a mindset and departmental approach as a priority for Chief Curran.  I suggest the Town consider a Task Force comprised of citizens with a defined charge and deadline for reporting.  I suggest the charge of that task force include exploring the concepts of community policing, defining more clearly the expectations our community has of its police and recommending strategies for achieving those expectations.  I suggest this task force partner with other appropriate organizations, such as the Justice in Action Committee, the NAACP and neighborhood associations.  We should involve police and other criminal justice system representatives (court system, probation and parole, etc.) in support roles.

·         The effect of community growth. As the Town grows larger, it is more difficult for residents to develop personal relationships with the officers who serve their community and/or neighborhood. Because of the focus of issues I heard when talking with people, I have taken immediate action, convening Parks and Recreation Director Butch Kisiah, Hargraves Center Director Nate Davis and Police Chief Brian Curran and directing them to reinvigorate existing programs and develop new programs as appropriate that provide opportunities for the participants at the Hargraves Center to meet police officers in an informal environment.  They are working on programs similar to midnight basketball.

·         Convene representatives from all aspects of the criminal justice system to discuss community relations.  The police are part of a larger system of criminal justice that includes many actors. It is difficult to create effective change within one part of a system without considering the entire system.  In my conversations, a suggestion arose, and was endorsed as I shared it, that we convene a meeting of those actors we immediately identify to discuss the idea of a regular meeting of those participants and to discuss the issues reflected in the petition.

·         Programs I have seen work  in other communities that reconnect the police and the people they serve are as follows:

o       Citizens Police Academy – residents and police participate in a development opportunity to learn about policing in our community and to exchange perspectives and ideas

o       Law Enforcement Study Circles – small groups of 10-12 people including residents and police meet in a facilitated, structured discussion group in which people share perspectives.  To be successful, these must be conducted in a way that participants feel “safe” in sharing their ideas and feelings

o       Neighborhood meetings, including traditional community watch programs, focused on issues important to that neighborhood in which police, as well as other Town departments participate – a community problem-solving approach.

·         Enhanced administrative review. In 2007, I defined serious incidents for the Town around allegations of mistreatment, harassment and discrimination of employees.  I have been frustrated by the lack of resources to investigate such incidents in a timely and effective manner.  To address that, I am creating a small group of Town employees from various departments (4-8) that I can provide training to develop their investigative/review skills and assign to investigate such complaints and make recommendations to me about their findings.  Although I am just beginning that process, it may be reasonable to consider expanding that role to investigating concerns expressed by citizens about unacceptable behavior by any Town employee based on the nature of the incident as described above.

 

These comments are intended to be a summary of conversations and resulting thoughts and ideas. They are intended to stimulate ideas about how we as a community might address the issues raised by the petition.