BPD HQ

For more than 10 years I have called for a true Civilian Review Board made up of Citizens representing the diverse make up of the City of Boston in all areas; age, gender, race, etc.

In 2007 Mayor Menino appointed 3 members to what he called the “CO-OP” Community Ombudsman Oversight Panel in response to community concerns about policing. The CO-OP is primarily made up of legal professionals; lawyers, former judges, etc. and released its first report in 2008. I have also called, along with the ACLU and other community activists to grant the CO-OP subpoena powers and investigative abilities.

In the spirit of community policing, I am calling on not only retaining the CO-OP, but also in addition to the CO-OP, establishing a true civilian review board made up of community members who may or may nor have law enforcement/legal expertise. This civilian review board would work in tandem with the CO-OP to provide recommendations and reviews from a community perspective.

In addition to this local initiative I have already called on Governor Deval Patrick to establish a statewide Commission on Police Misconduct in order to remove the responsibility of local law enforcement from policing themselves, which we have seen is problematic.

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