Public opinion sought in review board process

The Committee for Review of Citizen Oversight met again Thursday night.

By Harry Plumer
March 7, 2008

Members of the Columbia Committee for Review of Citizen Oversight of the Police Department discuss on Thursday at the Boone County Government Center plans to involve the public in committee meetings. The committee’s goal is to determine the necessity of oversight on police issues.

As the march toward their final report in August continues, the Columbia Committee for Review of Citizen Oversight of the Police Department is making progress in one of its biggest tasks: measuring the opinion of the citizens themselves.

“The biggest factor for our success is to get as much community involvement as possible,” committee member Ellen LoCurto-Martinez said.

The committee’s main goal during Thursday night’s meeting was to do just that.

“This is the time for public input,” committee member Diane Booth said at the meeting. “Let’s give the public plenty of time.”

The 15-person group agreed on a two-pronged plan of action at the meeting. The first segment of the plan included finalizing six meetings for the public to discuss the issue of a civilian review board for the Columbia Police Department.

“The goal of these meetings is to gauge public sentiment about citizen review,” Co-chairman Jeffrey Williams said. “We want to know about their feelings and their experiences and whether they feel any complaints have been adequately dealt with.”

The dates, times and locations of the meetings are expected to be announced to the public via news release sometime next week.

The second section of the plan was to administer a written survey that asks citizens to rate their dealings with Columbia’s city police officers. The survey will be distributed in public city spaces such as the library and through direct mail to certain organizations within the city.

The main purpose of a civilian review board in Columbia would be to give citizens a third-party outlet through which they could voice their complaints against the CPD. Students should note that despite the fact the committee is holding one of their meetings on campus and that everyone is encouraged to attend, the proposed review board would have no effect on MUPD.

“We just want to make the information available to anyone,” Williams said.

LoCurto-Martinez said the committee is trying to contact all communities.

“We are trying to address every single community in the city,” LoCurto-Martinez said. “We have scheduled meetings in every ward of the city and have already reached out to the (Gaines/Oldham) Black Culture Center at MU and some organizations in the Latino community.”

Although the committee’s predictions for attendance at their meetings were relatively grim, some residents have expressed a desire to attend.

“My wife or I will make a point to attend the meeting in our area and add any input we feel is appropriate,” said Steve Long, a Columbia resident of 10 years. “I think a review board would make a lot people more comfortable.”

However, Long also said his few dealings with Columbia’s police have been “cooperative and pleasant,” and he would feel “somewhat comfortable” filing a complaint in the internal affairs system the CPD has in place.

Share on Facebook

Public opinion sought in review board process

More March 7, 2008 Outlook Stories

Most recent Outlook Stories