HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-10-20; City Council; ; Presentation Regarding the Different Options for Civilian Oversight of the Police Department and Recommendation to Hire a Consultant and Seek Community Input on the BestCITY COUNCIL
Staff Report
Meeting Date:
To:
From:
Staff Contact:
Oct. 20, 2020
Mayor and City Council
Scott Chadwick, City Manager
Mickey Williams, Assistant Police Chief
mickey.williams@carlsbadca.gov, 760-931-2260
Allegra Frost, Deputy City Attorney
a I legra. frost@ca rlsbadca .gov, 760-434-2891
Sheila Cobian, Assistant to the City Manager
sheila.cobian@carlsbadca.gov, 760-434-2820
CA Review CB
Subject: Presentation Regarding the Different Options for Civilian Oversight of the
Police Department and Recommendation to Hire a Consultant and Seek
Community Input on the Best Approach for the City of Carlsbad
Recommended Action
Receive a presentation on the different options for citizen oversight of police departments.
Consider a staff recommendation to:
• Obtain input from the community regarding law enforcement concerns and desired
aspects of police oversight.
• Hire an expert consultant to design a police oversight and review program that is
tailored to the needs of the City of Carlsbad.
Executive Summary
This presentation comes in response to a minute motion approved by the City Council on
Aug. 18, 2020, directing staff to return with a report that provided greater detail on the three
models for civilian oversight of police departments and a staff recommendation on the option
most suitable for the City of Carlsbad.1
This report explains four police oversight and review options available to the coundl and
provides a recommendation:
1. An auditor/monitor model
2. A review-focused model
3. An investigation-focused model
1 Minute motion by Council Member Bhat-Patel, seconded by Council Member Schumacher, approved 3/1, Hall
voting No. The minute motion was preceded by staff's report on the Police Department's use of force, the Police
Officers Bill of Rights and citizens review committees on police practices and procedures, which included some of
the information in this report.
Oct. 20, 2020 Item #8 Page 1 of 7
4. Retain an expert consultant to make an independent recommendation about the
best way for Carlsbad to address the community's concerns with respect to civilian
oversight of law enforcement.
Discussion
Overview
The purpose of civilian oversight of police includes:
• Building trust between the community and its law enforcement agency
• Eliminating bias, ensuring due process of law for all
• Increasing transparency into police operations, particularly relating to allegations of
misconduct and internal affairs investigations
• Improving accountability
• Engaging the community on law enforcement issues
• Advising department leaders
• Providing community members with a forum for airing grievances
• Deterring misconduct
Cities, counties and other agencies that provide law enforcement have taken a wide range of
approaches to achieving these goals. Some large law enforcement agencies are overseen by
independent panels with broad investigatory powers and professional investigators. Some cities
have commissions involved in personnel matters. In smaller jurisdictions, police oversight
agencies may be primarily-advisory panels.
The specific needs and demands of the community drove these choices. Some governments
faced significant problems with police misconduct, public trust or both and needed to make
major reforms. Others sought to improve police-community relations, or to foster a dialog with
the community. While there is limited data on the effectiveness of police oversight agencies,
studies have shown that a community that has confidence in its police department tends to be
safer and have reduced crime, because more people come forward to report crimes and are
willi ng to testify in criminal cases.
The U.S. Department of Justice provides three basic models of police oversight, again, with
many variations and many hybrid models. The following sections will detail the three basic
models of police oversight, including the potential benefits and issues to consider, and a
recommendation that the Council retain an expert to help the City define its goals and design
an oversight or review model specific to Carlsbad. 2
2 Information on the types of oversight agencies and other information in this presentation comes from the report
Civilian Oversight of the Police in Major Cities. Stephens, Darrel W., Ellen Scrivner, and Josie F. Cambareri. Office of
Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. 2018
https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/Publications/cops-w0861-pub.pdf
Oct. 20, 2020 Item #8 Page 2 of 7
Auditor/monitor model
This model focuses on examining patterns in complaint investigations and discipline as well as
policies, practices or training to make broad organization-level recommendations. Some of
these bodies have independent experts who actively participate in open internal investigations.
Under this model, the oversight body and its staff may be involved with every part of the police
agency's response when a community member complains about an officer. This can be a
significant amount of work-classifying the complaint, investigating it, documenting the
findings, analyzing the data -often done in duplicate or alongside police internal affairs
investigators. However, it can reveal problems that might otherwise be missed.
Potential benefits:
• Along with independent oversight, this model helps spot problems in how
complaints are handled, flaws or bias in investigations and gaps in training, policy,
supervision and discipline.
• This model can provide a broad range of oversight, from analyzing policy to
reexamining individual ineidents.
• As with the other models, this model can help build public trust.
Issues to consider:
• This is a complaint-driven model that analyzes data to identify trends, so it can take
time for the process to show results. Cities with a low number of complaints do not
have much data to analyze.
• Audits may fail to spot systemic but underreported problems affecting population
groups less likely to complain because of economic or legal status or other
circumstances.3 They also may not track misconduct revealed when cases go to
court.
• This does not provide a public forum.
Review-focused model
This model of police oversight generally involves a board of citizen volunteers that reviews
already completed internal affairs investigations to determine if they were adequate and states
their agreement or disagreement with the findings. It may also request further investigation be
conducted and make recommendations to police executives. This model often includes public
meetings for community members to comment on police conduct, practices and policies. The
focus is on improving community-police relations.
A commission can review and provide recommendations to the city and police department on
police related issues such as policies, procedures, practices, community-police relations, use of
force, and the priority and importance of services provided by the police department.
3 This information and other material in this presentation comes from the report, "Oversight Models: Is one model
better than another?" by the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. That report notes,
"Other groups such as individuals working in sex trades or involved in gangs are not likely to report even the most
egregious police misconduct." https://www.nacole.org/oversight models
Oct. 20, 2020 Item #8 Page 3 of 7
Potential benefits:
• Because its meetings are generally in public, this model tends to provide greater
transparency than the auditor/monitor model.
• These commissions can provide a forum that fosters greater involvement by the
community and serve as an advisory body to police.
• A law enforcement agency may be more inclined to take action when the
recommendation comes from an official panel. If the commission also reviews
completed internal affairs investigations, this model would provide independent
review of internal police investigations.
Issues to consider:
• Panelists need specialized training. Experts recommend this training come from
outside the organization.
• All public meeting requirements would apply.
• Confidentiality issues may arise depending on the scope of the commission's work.
• These boards may not be effective without adequate independence.
Unlike the city's other commissions, a police oversight commission looking into complaints
against police officers would need to do so behind closed doors due to the confidential nature
of police officer personal files (California Penal Code 832. 7) Records and findings of the
commission would remain confidential and would be protected fro.m disclosure. (Berkeley
Police Assn. v. City of Berkeley (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 385, 404-05.).
The authorities that can be given to such a commission would also be limited by the city
charter, which operates as Carlsbad's constitution. For example, giving the commission the
power to recommend and impose discipline would conflict with the city charter because these
actions are administrative actions that are within the city manager's purview under the
council-manager form of government established by the city charter. (Brown v. City of Berkeley
(1976) 57 Cal.App.3d 223, 233; Hubbard v. City of San Diego (1976) 55 Cal.App.3d 380, 388.)
Investigation-focused model
This model provides independent investigations of incidents involving police personnel. It
requires professional staff and is basically a duplicate internal affairs office of the police
department, with highly skilled and trained investigators working within the agencies to
investigate complaints. Some may recommend discipline.
This sort of oversight agency is typically found in jurisdictions with large numbers of peace
officers, or in cities confronting significant issues of police misconduct or long-standing
problems in police-community issues.
Potential benefits:
• Having an empowered independent watchdog office can increase public trust in a
community lacking confidence in the police department's ability to investigate itself.
• Using outside investigators avoids the inherent conflicts in many internal affairs
units when departments rotate investigators in and out of the units.
Oct. 20, 2020 Item #8 Page 4 of 7
Issues to consider:
• While they provide the greatest level of scrutiny and accountability, an investigation-
focused oversight agency requires a significant amount of professional staff, which
makes this the costliest approach.
• This type of commission will have to navigate legal issues including confidentiality of
police officer personnel files and the Peace Officer's Bill of Rights.
Staff's recommendation: An expert recommendation and community input
Oversight of police departments and reviewing their policies and procedures is legally and
procedurally complex, and politically sensitive, with a national urgency driven by events outside
of Carlsbad. Due to the complexity, staff recommends that council retain an expert consultant
with experience advising cities on this topic who could help the city define what goal it is trying
to achieve in terms of police oversight or reform. The consultant would study the city, receive
community input, analyze the options and provide a Carlsbad-specific recommendation for the
council's consideration.
Council may also want to consider:
Establishing a community working group to receive community input about police policies,
practices and potential oversight models in Carlsbad.
The idea for a community working group was based on the success of meetings the Police
Department has had with the Carlsbad Equality Coalition and the North County Civil Liberties
Coalition to discuss police policies and practices. (See e-mail from Keyrollos Ibrahim, Carlsbad
Equality Coalition, Exhibit 1) These discussions have built trust and collaboration between the
police department and the involved groups.
Local examples
As staff reported to the City Council in its Aug. 18 presentation on this topic, several cities in
San Diego County have adopted various models of police oversight panels:
Jurisdiction Committee or commission Mission
Advises police chief on
Chula Vista Community Advisory Committee police-community relations
and efforts to deter, prevent
crime
Advises City Council on
Oceanside Police and Fire Commission policy matters relating to
police, fire and public safety
Receives and reviews
National City Community & Police Relations misconduct complaints, can
Commission recommend changes in
policies and procedures
Oct. 20, 2020 Item #8 Page 5 of 7
Reviews and evaluates
complaints from public,
Community Review Board administration of discipline,
San Diego officer-involved shootings, on Police Practices in-custody deaths and all
police actions that result in
death
County of Citizens Law Enforcement Conducts independent
San Diego* Review Board investigations of citizen
complaints of misconduct
* Provides law enforcement for nine cities and county's unincorporated areas.
The City of La Mesa decided last week to create a new police oversight board and retain an
independent police auditor to investigate serious incidents and misconduct complaints against
the city's officers. La Mesa's new Community Police Oversight Board is to make
recommendations about policy decisions and officer discipline and direct the independent
auditor to investigate all serious incidents involving police.4
Fiscal Analysis
This agenda item is for discussion only, so there are no fiscal impacts at this time.
Next steps
With the council's approval, staff will procure a contract with an expert consultant to help
define the goals for the City of Carlsbad in terms of police oversight and review of police
policies and determine the best approach to achieve those goals. Staff will also establish a
community working group to receive community input about police oversight, policies and
procedures in the City of Carlsbad.
Environmental Evaluation (CEQA)
This action does not constitute a "project" within the meaning of the California Environmental
Quality Act under Public Resources Code Section 21065 in that it has no potential to cause
either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical
change in the environment and therefore does not require environmental review.
Public Notification and Outreach
Public notice of this item was posted in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act and it was
available for viewing at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting date.
Exhibits
1. Sept. 19, 2020. E-mail from Keyrollos Ibrahim, Carlsbad Equality Coalition
4 See: In split vote, La Mesa Council approves new police oversight board, sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-
safety/story/2020-10-13/in-split-vote-la-mesa-council-approves-new-police-oversight-board
Oct. 20, 2020 Item #8 Page 6 of 7
Sheila Cobian
Subject: FW: Creation of a working group on police reform
From: keyrollos ibrahim
Sent: Saturday, September 19, 2020 10:31 AM
To: Scott Chadwick <Scott.Chadwick@carlsbadca.gov>
Subject: Creation of a working group on police reform
Good afternoon,
Exhibit 1
My name is Keyrollos Ibrahim and I am the co-founder of the Carlsbad Equality Coalition. I have spoken at several
council meetings regarding our efforts to have an open dialogue regarding policing in Carlsbad. As you may know, the
Carlsbad Equality Coalition, the North County Civil Li~erties Union, and the North County NAACP have all
separately been meeting with the Carlsbad Police Department to review their policies and provide recommendations on
substantive changes that we believe will keep the community and its officers safe. The CEC, NCCLC and NAACP all
recently met for the first time and have aligned their efforts into one review. All of us feel that our meetings with
Assistant Chief of Police Williams have been very productive. We are learning a lot about the department but at the
same time have been given the opportunity to provide input in specific areas.
There is a problem however, the public is largely unaware of these efforts. In fact, public perception is to the contrary,
many want to return to protesting because they believe that the department has done nothing in the wake of the three
day protests to address the public's concerns. I am highly concerned that these productive conversations we are having
will turn political and hinder any efforts we make on this very apolitical issue.
I was hoping that we could form a working group or task force that recognizes the meetings already taking place with
the department. In my opinion, this group should include the three groups I mentioned, Assistant Chief of Police
Williams and members of the Carlsbad Peace Officers Association. It could also include members of the public who are
similarly dedicated to the issue but not affiliated with any of these groups so as to keep this process open.
This method would allow all of us to continue to meet in good faith while showing the public the CPD is committed to an
open dialogue. It would also quell the fears of some by showing that all factions are fairly represented at the table.
Lastly, it would give us an avenue to share with the council our findings at the conclusion of such a review. If a task force
could give a report to council in writing or via a presentation it would allow the public to see the results of these efforts
and give the council valuable perspective to consider as we move forward.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. My number is
and I am happy to take a call from you at any time. I truly believe that Carlsbad can be a leader on this issue and that the
right players are already in place, we just have to get the politics out of the way!
In Friendship,
Keyrollos Ibrahim
"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the
striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these."
1
Oct. 20, 2020 Item #8 Page 7 of 7
Tammy Cloud-McMinn
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Dear City Council,
Jacqueline Penn <jacquelinepenn@g.ucla.edu >
Tuesday, October 20, 2020 9:46 AM
City Clerk
10/20 city council meeting, item 8
All Receive -Agenda Item # .zl
For the Information of the:
CIJY COUNCIL
DateJii/JJ2 CA £CC ___;:_...
CM v'ACM _V['.iCM (3) _
I grew up in Carlsbad. I graduated from Carlsbad High in 2018, and I am a current student at UCLA. I am proud to call this
beautiful city my home, and I always look forward to coming home to Carlsbad during breaks from college.
I am writing today in support of the Carlsbad Equality Coalition's effort to support the formation of a task force, to
facilitate cohesion between the community and the Carlsbad Police Department. By creating a space for members of the
community to work with the police and better understand their practices, Carlsbad can position itself as a model for
other cities and a leader in community-police relations in San Diego County.
Focusing on transparency is the first step that must be taken in order to build strong relations between the community
and the police. This trust allows members of the community to rely on the police when they need to, and trust between
the community and the police also helps the police to do their jobs effectively.
Such trust keeps all of us safe -the police and the community will benefit from the creation of a task force. There are
very few situations in life that are truly win-win. Yet, this is one of them. We must jump at this opportunity, and work
together to build a safer, stronger community!
Please contact me if you have any further questions regarding what I wrote in this email. My email is:
jacquelinepenn@g.ucla.edu.
Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Jacqueline Penn
(please let me know when this email has been received. thank you!)
Jacqueline Penn
University of California, Los Angeles
Class of 2022 I Psychobiology, Bachelor of Science
1
Tammy Cloud-McMinn
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Dear Carlsbad city council,
Gillian Northway <ghnorthway0708@gmail.com>
Tuesday, October 20, 2020 10:29 AM All Receive_ Agenda Item# 'fl
City Clerk For the Information of the:
Item 8, 10/20/20 meeting CITY COUNCIL
Datel.i]j[j_ CA V-CC ___:::-
CM .......-J..CM .....::::::-OCM (3) ,.,,,--
My name is Gillian Northway, and I urge you to create this task force to facilitate communication between the Carlsbad
community and police. Trust between the police and their communities is broken all over the nation, but this task force
would be one way to start repairing it. Carlsbad could create a stronger, safer community by ensuring just and fair
policing practices and giving a voice to caring and determimed members of the community. Please, to support a
collaboration that benefits the city and residents immensely, advocate for item 8 and help establish this task force.
Thank you,
Gillian Northway
1
Tammy Cloud-McMinn
From:
Sent:
To:
Jonathan Chan <jonathan.chan 1222@gmail.com >
Tuesday, October 20, 2020 12:07 PM
City Clerk
Subject: Oct. 20, 2020 City.Council Meeting Departmental Report Item #8 d # D All Receive -Agen a Item .....0
For the Information of the:
Hello, _c~OUNCIL
Date/ a CA ---cc ,-
CM .-ACM ...--DCM (3).:::,
My name is Jonathan Chan. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I have been a resident of San Diego for 26 years
and a Carlsbad resident for 5 years. Because I deeply care about our community, I am writing in regards to the
Departmental and City Ma_nager Report #8 (Presentation regarding Civilian Oversight). I believe that is essential to act
proactively in forming a task force that is able to independently review and dialogue with the police force and
community. By forming this committee, the council would be able to demonstrate that they are taking current issues
seriously, build meaningful relationships between the community and our police force, and address any potential
problems before any person might get seriously hurt.
I recognize my ignorance of current CPD policing practices and their impact/benefit on ci_vilians. I desire to learn more
and understand what is beneficial and what is detrimental to those who engage with the police regularly. We have an
opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of different perspectives and I believe this task force could go a long
way into doing so. I would much rather see our city government act proactively to bring great change and growth than
have to deal with problems after they present themselves.
It is my sincere hope that you would support this proposal. Thank you for your time.
With appreciation,
Jonathan Chan
Sandpiper Place, Carlsbad, CA 92009
CAUTION: Do not o en attachments or click on links unless nize the sender and know the content i
safe.
1
Tammy Cloud-McMinn
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Ana Reyes <ana.reyes.cristina@gmail.com>
Tuesday, October 20, 2020 1 :23 PM
City Clerk
Comment for Item 8 for 10/20 meeting
All Receive -Agenda Item # E
For the Information of the:
CITY COUNCIL
Date~CA____6C ~
CM ~CM:::::: DCM (3) __:::::'
My name is Ana Reyes and I live in district 4 of Carlsbad. I am also a social worker who has worked with vulnerable
populations that are overrepresented in use-of-force statistics and also in police engagement in general.
I support the formation of a task force to guide communication between community and police. The unnecessary deaths
of countless individuals and t he lack of accountability we have seen in many of these cases is not anything I want to see
in the City of Carlsbad. I believe that a task force is one step towards improving relationships between community
members and police officers, and also a way to help improve the department and the welfare of vulnerable populations,
such as those with mental health issues and those battling homelessness. I am happy to see that our city council is
discussing this and I hope that my city government continues to pursue this proposal. Thank you.
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safe.
1
Mia De Marzo
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Nicholas Marsden < nickmarsden@sbcglobal.net>
Tuesday, October 20, 2020 2:00 PM
City Clerk
Item #8 -Civilian Oversight of Police Dept
I support establishing a community-based task force to receive community input, analyze citizen oversight options and review
Carlsbad police policies and practices. We do not need to pay for an outside consultant. Several reputable organizations
including the NAACP have offered their knowledge and experience, and many of their members are experts on these topics.
Self awareness is part of growth for a collective community, just like for us as individuals. Approving a community task force
does not discredit our city's respected police department in any way. Rather, the community-based task force actually serves
to be self-aware as a city, and build on the police's good reputation and strengths to continue shaping into a shining example for
police-community relations for our country.
Thank you,
Nicholas Marsden
!CAUTION: Do not open attachments or click on links unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.I
1
Review of police oversight models and
a recommendation to retain a consultant
and seek community input on the best
approach for Carlsbad
Mickey Williams, Assistant Police Chief
Allegra Frost, Deputy City Attorney
Oct. 20, 2020
Purpose of civilian oversight of police
•Building trust
•Eliminating bias,
ensuring due process
•Increasing transparency,
particularly on
misconduct, internal
investigations
2
•Improving accountability
•Engaging community
•Advising department
•Providing a public forum
•Deterring misconduct
3
Spectrum of approaches
•Commissions with broad powers
•Independent investigatory agencies
•Advisory panels
•Combinations, hybrids
4
Needs, demands of community
Oversight choices driven by:
•Incidents or patterns of misconduct
•Calls for reform
•Lack of public trust
•Desire to foster a productive public dialog
A community with confidence in its
police department is a safer community
Police oversight options
1.Auditor/Monitor
2.Review-Focused
3.Investigation-focused
4.Retain expert to recommend best approach for Carlsbad
5
6
Auditor/monitor
•Analyzes patterns in officer complaints,
discipline, policies, practices and training
•Makes broad organization-level
recommendations
7
Auditor/monitor: Benefits
•Spot problems and bias in investigation, gaps
in training policy, supervision and discipline
•Provides broad range of oversight
•Outside review can build public trust
8
Review-focused
•Review investigations, policies, practices and
training
•Provides feedback and recommendations to
department leadership
•Offers a forum for community discussion on
police issues
9
Review-focused: Benefits
•Transparency and public participation
•Serves as advisory board for police leadership
•Provide an independent review of police
operations
10
Investigation-focused
•Conducts independent investigations
•Some may recommend discipline
•Most common in cities with large departments
or police-community issues
11
Investigation-focused: Benefits
•Independent watchdog may increase public
trust
•Independent investigators avoid inherent
conflicts
Auditor/Monitor: Potential issues
•Cities with few complaints have little data to
analyze
•Audits may miss underreported problems
•Does not provide the transparency of a
public forum
12
13
Review-focused: Potential issues
•Requires specialized training
•Public meeting requirements would apply
•Confidentiality
•Boards may not be effective without
adequate independence
Investigation-focused: Potential issues
•Requires significant amount of professional
staff, the costliest approach
•Legal issues, including confidentiality and
the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of
Rights
14
Potential Legal Issues
•All public meeting laws apply aside from
discussions of confidential matters
•Peace officer personnel confidentiality issues
•Labor negotiations may be required
•City’s charter gives city manager authority to
recommend, impose discipline
15
Local examples
16
•Chula Vista -Community Advisory Committee
•Oceanside -Police and Fire Commission
•National City -Community & Police Relations
Commission
•San Diego -Community Review Board
•County of San Diego -Citizens Law Enforcement
Review Board
Local examples
17
•La Mesa
-Community Police Oversight Board
-Independent police auditor
18
Another option
Police-community working group
•Concept comes from meetings with
Carlsbad Equality Coalition
•Discussions have built trust and
collaboration
•Could make recommendations on police
policies and practices
19
Staff’s recommendation
Retain experienced, expert consultant to:
•Listen to community input
•Study the city, assess its needs
•Analyze the options
•Recommend best approach for Carlsbad