65A - POLICE OVERSIGHT DIRECTION

Home Browse Search

Table 2. Civilian oversight model advantages and disadvantages ..Review Auditor Advantages Independence ✓ ✓ Transparency ✓ ✓ ✓ Public confidence ✓ ✓ Community perspective ✓ ✓ Officer acceptance ✓ ✓ Broad range of oversight ✓ Policy focus ✓ Disadvantages Investigative experience ✓ Expense ✓ Complaint reception ✓ ✓ Timeliness ✓ ✓ Report challenges ✓ Diversity representation ✓ There are other forms of oversight that do not fall neatly into any of the three models in table 2, and there are advantages and disadvantages with these approaches as well. Both the Toronto Police Service and the Peel Regional Police (Ontario, Canada) work at the direction of the Police Services Board, which appoints the chief of police, who is responsible to the board as the chief executive of a corporation is responsible to its board of directors. (This is similar to the City of Los Angeles, where the mayor's appointment of chief of police must be approved by a majority of the civilian police commissioners and the city council.) In addition, Toronto and the Peel Region have three additional oversight bodies that include all three of the models already described. While these bodies conduct independent investigations of OIS and misconduct (two separate agencies), this process does not involve the community —the bodies are still government agencies. They have the advantage of independence and well -trained investigators but lack the perspective of the community. Fairfax County, Virginia, combines the review and auditor models in its approach to civilian oversight. It settled on this approach after a lengthy public conversation about the approach that best suited its needs. It will have the advantages and disadvantages of both models. Civilian Oversight of the Police in Major Cities 65A-37