Richmond’s City Council unanimously voted to send seven Community Police Review Commission recommendations to the meet-and-confer process for negotiation with the Richmond Police Officers Association. The commission, a nine-member civilian oversight body established in 1984, will require new members to complete eight hours of training within six months on implicit bias, best policing practices, the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act, and constitutional rights. Recommended reforms include extending the complaint window to one year, lowering the evidentiary standard to preponderance of evidence, expanding investigable complaint types, permitting anonymous complaints and redactions, granting subpoena power, requiring an annual Confidential Investigative Officer report, and posting non-confidential records online. The proposals generated support from those grieving a police killing and pushback from the police union president citing statewide mental health shortcomings.
RICHMOND - Recommended changes meant to boost transparency for the Richmond Police Department will head to the negotiation table, sparking support from those grieving a recent police killing and pushback from the police union president who said the real issue is a lack of mental health support statewide. The city's Community Police Review Commission, a nine-member civilian oversight body formed in 1984, brought forward seven recommendations for the City Council to consider during a meeting Tuesday night.
The recommendations approved by the council Tuesday include extending the complaint filing period from 120 days to one year from when an incident occurs; changing the standard of review from "clear and convincing evidence" to "preponderance of the evidence;" expanding the types of complaints the commission can investigate and review; allowing for anonymous complaints to be filed and to redact complainants' and witnesses' names from public documents;
giving the commission subpoena power for documents and other evidence; requiring the Confidential Investigative Officer complete an annual report; and making all non-confidential records and reports automatically available on the city's website instead of requiring the public to file public information requests.
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