Citizens Police Review Board improving community and police communication

Ferguson Mayor James Knowles is taking several steps to repair trust between the Ferguson community and police department.

This comes after the Department of Justice released a 100-page report earlier this week which included findings of systematic racial discrimination by the Ferguson police against African Americans.

One of those steps is the creation of a citizens police review board. Currently, only three cities in Missouri have similar boards including Columbia.

In 2007, a group of citizens presented the idea of forming a review board to the Columbia City Council. Thomas Hargrove, a member of the Columbia Citizens Police Review Board, says the board acts as a communication device among citizens, the police department and the city council.

“Based on the amount of complaints that we are getting, they tend to keep going down, I think it’s having an effect,” Hargrove said.

The board, which is made up of eight members, meets monthly. It reviews appeals from citizens to the police chief on police misconduct, makes recommendations on police policies and trainings and more.

In 2014, the board reviewed three appeals, which Hargrove said is fewer than previous years. Hargrove said the board does not have the authority to overturn an appeal, but it can recommend an investigation or mediation, which the board did in one of the three cases.

“The board has no authority to hand down any type of discipline, if you will, just make recommendations,” Hargrove said. “We make recommendations to the council, to the police chief.”

For example, last year the board recommended that CPD give officers more training on policies about citizens signing tickets. And it recently created a mediation pilot program in hopes to solving conflicts without a full investigation.

Hargrove said he believes a citizens review board for the Ferguson Police Department will help improve communication between the community and Ferguson police.

“It’s people that are not in the one specific incident that occurred that can sit here and talk and ask questions of both parties, try to be impartial,” Hargrove said. “But at least just facilitate a conversation, and then I think that can help them. But I think it’s helped here and I think it can help there.”

Police Chief Ken Burton said he did not think the city needed a review board when he arrived in Columbia in 2009, but said it gives citizens an alternative or appeal process when they feel they have been treated unfairly. He said he meets with the board twice a year.

“It is my hopes that they remain bored,” Burton said. He hopes the number of appeals the board is asked to review keep going down.

The board’s next meeting is set for March 11. All meetings are open to the public.