All about Policing with a sprinkle of Criminal Justice – written by a Secret Contrarian
The proud DSA member told reporters Tuesday that he wants an emboldened and effective Civilian Complaint Review Board that out-ranks the city’s top cop when it comes to serious disiciplinary matters.
— Read on nypost.com/2025/10/01/us-news/zohran-mamdani-wants-to-strip-power-from-nypd-commissioner-revoking-final-say-on-officer-discipline/
See the report on the death of Allan Feliz by the NY AG office HERE
The Boston Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, launched in response to protests following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, has so far sustained 18 citizen complaints and has proposed varying levels of discipline. But public records show Police Commissioner Michael Cox has routinely flouted even modest disciplinary recommendations.
— Read on www.wbur.org/news/2025/08/28/boston-police-commissioner-officers-discipline
See the letter from the Police Oversight Committee HERE
In 2021, shortly after she became the chair of Champaign’s civilian police review board, Alexandra Harmon-Threatt sat down to review records and video from investigations into civilian complaints that had been filed earlier that year.
In one case, a man had accused Champaign Police Officer Nicholas Krippel of being physically and verbally aggressive toward him and making physical contact without cause during a response to a verbal disagreement between a landlord and the man who filed the complaint.
“Officer Krippel got in my face, in my space,” the complainant said in an interview with Lt. Kevin Olmstead, who conducted the Champaign Police’s internal investigation. “His vest actually touched my skin, that’s how close he was to me.”
The man said Krippel had escalated the situation: “He only told me to stop talking and shut up, but he [said] nothing to the dude that threatened me.”
Harmon-Threatt’s review of Krippel’s bodycam video confirmed, in her mind, that both of these allegations had merit. But when she read Olmstead’s report, she found that it contradicted the video evidence.
— Read on ipmnewsroom.org/champaigns-police-review-board-aims-to-improve-policing-but-some-fear-it-lacks-power-to-make-change/
The Citizens Police Oversight Commission (CPOC) today announced the release of its 2024 Annual Report, a detailed account of the agency’s growing impact in building a more transparent, accountable, and community-centered system of policing in Philadelphia.
The 2024 Annual Report details a year of significant progress for CPOC, despite a challenging national environment for police oversight agencies. Under the leadership of Executive Director Tonya McClary, Esq., who was appointed in May 2024, CPOC has taken major steps to strengthen its oversight functions, engage the public, and advocate for systemic reforms.
“Even with the challenges we faced in 2024, CPOC remained resolutely committed to fostering transparency, accountability, and trust between the community and law enforcement,” said McClary. “Our work is helping to shape a future that is safer, fairer, and filled with opportunities for every Philadelphian.”
Here is an interesting graphic from the report
— Read on www.phila.gov/2025-04-24-citizens-police-oversight-commission-releases-annual-report-highlighting-progress-toward-police-accountability-transparency-and-community-trust/
Get a .PDF copy of the report HERE
Seattle’s Community Police Commission was created to amplify the voices of communities affected by policing and weigh in on police reform. But internal conflicts, vacancies, and turnover have frustrated that mission in recent years, according to an outside review.
Now members say they’re trying to move forward in time to influence the city’s latest ordinance governing crowd management and less-lethal weapons.
Seattle’s Community Police Commission was created as part of the city’s 2012 consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department, after federal officials found a pattern of unconstitutional excessive force by police.
— Read on www.kuow.org/stories/seattle-community-police-commission-seeks-to-regroup-from-internal-turmoil
Chicago police are required by law to document every time they pull someone over. But our new investigation with Bolts reveals the department is releasing vastly incomplete data to oversight agencies, even as the superintendent pledges reforms.
— Read on goodmenproject.com/featured-content/chicago-police-made-nearly-200000-secret-traffic-stops-last-year/
Commentary: Is it good for the process of police accountability if the oversight entity is biased against police? An administrator for the COPA said that their commitment is to the people of the city of Chicago. What exactly does that mean? Does that mean to find police guilty of misconduct? Does that mean to provide a fair process? Is there damage done to the city of Chicago, its police department, and the citizenry if police officers are wrongly found guilty of police misconduct? Isn’t there a cost to the City of Chicago when police officers are lost especially for biased reasons? 
The two high-ranking officials with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability were abruptly fired Friday, just days after one of them complained to the inspector general about bias against police.
— Read on chicago.suntimes.com/police-reform/2024/08/30/officials-police-oversight-agency-copa-dismissed-retaliation-bias-against-police
In Brief:
In the wake of 2020, states and localities created a number of new civilian police accountability boards to meet widespread demand for transparency.Civilian boards have limited power, and despite community members’ attempts to change that, law enforcement and legislators are increasingly aligned. In states like Florida and Tennessee, legislators have all but banned civilian boards from being created or from operating.
However, advocates for police reform continue to push for what they see as a necessary phase of accountability, encouraging legislators to develop a civilian-led oversight agency that has both power and independence
— Read on www.governing.com/workforce/do-civilian-review-boards-work
Baltimore will be one of the last police accountability boards in the state to get up and running.
— Read on www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/baltimore-police-accountability-backlog-GQMDYO25QFADVJCETU2STNXKCA/
This webpage contains several interesting reports on types of police oversight.
There are 2 articles that are overviews of police oversight and then several publications that review oversight at individual police departments.
Recent Reports – National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement
— Read on www.nacole.org/recent_reports
All about Policing with a sprinkle of Criminal Justice - written by a Secret Contrarian
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