Transition of CPCC to Police Oversight
Commission and Timeline for Implementation
Public Safety Committee Meeting – April 18, 2023
Background and Timeline on CPCC Charter Amendment
• September 2020 City Council funds independent assessment in FY 21 Budget • May 2021- January 2022 City selected Polis-Change Integration to conduct CPCC assessment • February 15, 2022 Polis-Change Integration presents assessment findings and recommendations to City Council
• February 15, 2022 City Council directs staff to begin Charter Amendment process:
Meet and Confer; City Attorney prepares draft Charter language • August 9, 2022 City Council Referred Charter Amendment to the ballot • November 2022 Voters pass Measure E to establish the Office of Police Oversight and Police Oversight Commission (Approximately 60% Approval) • December 6, 2022 City Council requested staff to initiate the transition to the new oversight model
Timeline of Key Actions
2 Measure E
• Effective January 1, 2023, authorized all LBPD complaints to be filed with the Internal Affairs Division of LBPD
• Authorized current Citizen Police Complaint Commission to continue service in making findings on remaining cases on file until the current backlog of cases is completed, or until the new Police Oversight Commission is appointed and stood up
• Authorized the City Manager’s office to continue oversight and support of CPCC until a Director of Police Oversight is onboarded and the new Office of Police Oversight is stood up and a new Police Oversight Commission is appointed
• Authorized funding for the newly established position of Director of Police Oversight; and funding for an executive recruiter to initiate the search for a Director of Police Oversight Council Direction to Initiate Implementation – December 6, 2022 3 Transition Timeline
Staff estimates up to 12 months to stand up the new Office of Police Oversight including:
• Appointment of a Police Oversight Commission
• Recruiting and staffing (Director and staff)
• Development of operational procedures
• Completion of meet and confer process regarding staff duties that may be impacted by the new structure.
4 Director of the Office of Police Oversight - Recruitment • February 2023 - Executive recruiter was hired to begin the recruitment process for the Director of the Office of Police Oversight
• February 14, 2023 - HR Brought a closed session item to present an overview of the recruitment process and obtain Council feedback
• April 11, 2023 - City Council approved amending the Fiscal Year 2023 Salary Resolution to establish the Director of Police Oversight classification • May 23, 2023 - Closed Session: Recruiter will present a draft of the job description for Council feedback on the skills and abilities for the Director of Police Oversight, and • Recruiter will also provide a detailed timeline for coordination with City Council to complete the process of onboarding the new Director of Police Oversight.
Executive Recruiter Key Actions
5 Office of Police Oversight and Commission - Summary
Independent Oversight Model Authorized by Measure E
• Director of Police Oversight (Auditor/Monitor)
o Hired / Fired by City Council (Currently no Director; Managed by City Manager) o Reports to City Council (Currently reports to City Manager) o Will have access to Police Department records, data and personnel; interviews, etc. (Currently - limited access to Police Department records) o Addresses systemic issues, analyzes patterns and trends, and identifies deficiencies in LBPD operations, policy, procedures, and training (No current authority) • Police Oversight Commission
o Seven (7) members appointed by Mayor and confirmed by City Council (Restructured Commission) o Solicit input from the community on areas / issues to be reviewed (New authority) o Provide input to the Director on auditing priorities (New authority) o Provide feedback to the Director on annual reports and recommendations (New Authority) 6 Director and Police Oversight Commission
• Commission will provide input to the Director on information important to include in published reports and can share the reports with the community to educate the public about the work of the Director
• Community input is gathered by the Commission and shared with the Director along with Commissioners’ input on topics of interest or concern
• Commission uses this feedback to recommend areas for the Director to focus in review of complaints as part of the Director’s audit/review process How the Director Works with the Police Oversight Commission 7 Director’s Reviews and Recommendations
• Director will conduct systemic reviews of LBPD operations, policy, procedures, and training. Working with the Police Oversight Commission, auditing priorities will be developed in response to community concerns or other indicators that a matter should be systemically reviewed • Audits complaints and investigations for thoroughness, timeliness, and quality, and analyzes complaint data to identify systematic issues, trends, or patterns • Recommendations for policy or practice changes based on systematic review and monitoring are presented to City Council.
• LBPD will have a certain number of days to provide an initial response to proposed recommendations, unless the Director and City Manager explicitly agree to an extension of time • LBPD response to recommendations should include a plan and timeline for moving the recommendations forward or an explanation as to why the recommendations are not acceptable • Director will investigate complaints of LBPD command staff Systemic Reviews and Complaint Investigations
8 Next Steps to Stand Up the Police Oversight Department Once the Police Oversight Director is onboard, the following steps will be taken:
• Initiate the Meet and Confer process with affected labor groups • Recruit professional and support staff for the Department of Police Oversight • Finalize remaining CPCC complaint caseload and decommission the current CPCC • Coordinate with the Mayor’s Office on appointment of the Police Oversight Commission • Transition authority for review and audit of police complaints (since January 2023) to the Police Oversight Director pursuant to Charter provisions (Measure E) 9 Thank you!
10 CPCC vs. Police Oversight Director and Commission
11 CPCC Oversight Director / Police Oversight Commission Model • Investigation Model of Civilian Oversight • Hybrid Model: Police Auditor/Monitor-focused + Review + Investigation with Police Oversight Commission
Powers / Duties • Investigates only external complaints of police misconduct
• Both the CPCC and Internal Affairs conduct
concurrent investigations on the same external
complaints
• CPCC staff cannot respond to any type of
incident investigation scene
• Director can review both internal and external complaints for thoroughness while Internal Affairs investigations are in progress and audit investigations once completed
• Can independently investigate certain cases
• A certain number of completed investigations will be audited monthly for thoroughness, timeliness, and quality
• Can respond to the scene of critical incident investigations Reviews and
Recommendations
• Commission can make recommendations to
the LBPD. LBPD does not have a requirement to
respond to recommendations within a certain
amount of time
• Commission makes finding recommendations
on allegations of police misconduct
• City Manager makes final findings on
allegations of police misconduct
• Can present recommendations to City Council for changes in LBPD policy and/or practice. LBPD would have a set number of days to respond to the recommendations made
• The Commission can set auditing priorities for the Director to audit certain types of completed investigations, based on community feedback
• Addresses systemic issues and analyzes patterns and trends.
Findings will be included in annual reports
CPCC vs. Police Oversight Director and Commission
12 CPCC Oversight Director / Police Oversight Commission Subpoena
Powers
• CPCC staff does not have direct access to LBPD
databases
• Can send an administrative subpoena requesting
documents, files, compelled statements etc.
from the LBPD
• Commission can request a hearing of accused
officers, but officers do not have a requirement
to show for the hearing
• No need for subpoena power due to the Director and their staff having direct access to LBPD databases, records and data with the authority to question witnesses, including Police Department personnel
• Required to preserve the privacy of Long Beach Police Department employees, including personnel files, and keep confidential all Long Beach Police Department files and other data to the maximum extent permitted by law
Community
Engagement
• No community engagement - Community
Engagement Committee developed educational
outreach plan
• Input gathered from the community by Commissioners. The Commission can use that information in recommending areas on which the Director might focus
• Commission will provide input to the Director on information important to include in published reports and can share the reports with the community to educate the public about the work of the Director
• Solicits input from the community on recommendations under consideration