Impressed with the focus on civilian oversight, Philadelphia Police Advisory Commission gives the recommendation from the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing a B+.
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Mr. Kelvyn Anderson, a former journalist turned civilian oversight practitioner who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Police Advisory Commission, was happy with the recommendations he read from the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, particularly because it talked a great deal about funding and supporting civilian oversight agencies.
“There’s not a single civilian oversight agency operating in New Jersey,” said Mr. Anderson, who a few months ago during an online town hall discussion entitled “Black Men, Police Officers and a Post-Ferguson America,” notified the world that the state of Pennsylvania, which is home to roughly 150 police departments, only has two civilian oversight agencies. “Most police departments are more like Ferguson than they are Philly,” he tells Techbook Online in an exclusive interview following his review of the 63 recommendations prepared by the task force, which his counterpart, Philadelphia Police Commissioner, Mr. Charles Ramsey, co-chairs.
A supporter of Mr. Ramsey, though critical of his policies related to the release of data around fatal officer-involved shootings, Mr. Anderson was thrilled to see that the report suggested that civilian oversight agencies and community members should have a say in how new policies are developed, which points to the relevancy and significance of participatory action research, an academic term tossed around at Philly After Ferguson, a recent town hall meeting I co-organized, which simply means that those who experience injustice have the greatest insight into the origins of injustice, thus would have the greatest proposals to solving injustice.
The first inclusionary conversation Mr. Anderson is hoping to have with Mr. Ramsey, and his team, is around developing sound polices to the full-scale body camera rollout.
“Commissioner Ramsey is in support of it, so now would be a good time to talk,” says Mr. Anderson, whose agency thus far hasn’t been involved in the 22nd Police District body camera pilot
He continues:
“As we’ve seen with body cameras, it requires pretty heavy conversation. If you’re going to rollout a significant policy change, you need to involve folks. I would want as many groups as practically possible in the conversation. This isn’t just about the commission, it’s about the people who are being policed.”
Despite the talk of body cameras, Mr. Anderson noticed there was virtually no recommendations surrounding it; which, oddly enough, is a “good thing.”
“What you’re seeing is a caution… it’s reasonable caution… it’s probably wise given the questions surrounding its use,” he said, acknowledging, though, that most departments are moving forward with pilots, so citizens shouldn’t take its absence from the report as a sign that it’s not a priority.
For Mr. Anderson, another hallmark of the report was its “controversial” suggestion of calling for external, independent investigations and outside prosecutors when police use deadly force.
Not so happy with that particular recommendation, however, was Philadelphia District Attorney, Mr. Seth Williams, who told KYW NewsRadio that:
“I think there are too many additional problems if we were to create special prosecutors that have no direct accountability to the public.”
Additionally, according to the news report, he said if the public feels he doesn’t prosecute cases involving police appropriately, they should not re-elect him.
Mr. Anderson said he’s not surprised to hear that there’s push back on that item from district attorneys.
“People who run our DA offices are usually people of good character. They take ownership of their responsibilities, but that recommendation has nothing to do with an assessment of how a DA is doing… it’s a reasonable conversation.”
Another great recommendation, says Mr. Anderson, but one that’s less controversial and more complicated is the issue of diversity.
The report says police forces should reflect the communities they serve. But over the last 10-15 years, says Mr. Anderson, there’s been a tendency to bump up requirements to be a police officer, the unintended consequences being that poor minorities, who populate the communities that are perceived as over-policed, don’t have the necessary college credits to enter the academy.
Mr. Anderson says there’s no need to lower the educational standards, as “they’ve gotten to this point for a reason,” but there’s is a need to figure out how to get more minorities who have an interest in law enforcement officers into higher education.
If you’re talking about 21st century policing, and diversity, then it’s imperative to include transparency, which is an area that Mr. Anderson says the Philadelphia Police Department needs much improvement in.
The report recommends that police departments be required to collect and post on their websites information about stops, frisks, summonses, arrests and crimes, broken down by demographics. Mr. Anderson said three years ago he tried to publish complaint data. He wants to renew that conversation now – as per the executive order finished citizens complaints should be made available – and ensure that when data is released, it’s useable and “fully searchable” by the public.
Monday gave the nation a great outline for progress. But Philadelphia, a city increasingly capturing the world’s attention, will be getting something special of its own. This Friday, the Department of Justice will release the highly anticipated Collaborative Reform Review of the Philadelphia Police Department.
Having the DOJ and President’s report come out during the same week will give us a lot to learn, said Mr. Anderson.
“It’ll be up to us to make it a living report, not just something that sits on the shelf.”
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
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Photo: AP/Cliff Owen