Highlights from Past NACOLE Conferences

Chicago, Illinois, October 17-20, 2004: Civilian Oversight of Policing: Respect & Serve

Kauai, Hawaii, Sept. 26-29, 2000: Meeting the Challenge and Duty of Oversight: The Work of Community and Police
Following two years' conferences in the Midwest, NACOLE accepted the gracious invitation of its Hawaiian Members and slated the 2000 Conference in Kauai where their aloha spirit welcomed us.

Los Angeles Police Commission's Inspector General Jeffrey Eglash delivered a Keynote outlining the painstaking processes of LAPD reform in the wake of the Rampart scandal.

The second annual Case Study Practicum, led by Joe Sandoval and Cincinnati's Jim Johnson, allowed attendees to again review and discuss complaints with colleagues from outside their jurisdictions, and was a high point of the Conference.

ACLU spokesperson Michelle Alexander presented a riveting discussion of Racial Profiling, and Tucson Police Captain John Leavitt outlined Tucson's attempt to deal with racial profiling with clear policy language.

Barbara Attard led the Mediation Panel, on which Minneapolis' Pat Hughes, Memphis' Carol Scott, Rochester's Todd Samolis, and San Diegan Virginia Van Meter suggested when and how mediation is appropriate and leads to "win-win" resolutions in certain categories of complaint.

Don Casimere described the two-pronged duty of oversight: to reach out into communities and reach in to law enforcement departments outlined our future work.

Sue Quinn described current models of oversight, their similarities, differences and communities' expectations. The presence and comments of International Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement's President Sean Hurley reminded us the problems we grapple with, and the tasks we face are similar to problems and tasks being dealt with in democracies throughout the world.

Kansas City, Missouri, October 6-8, 1999: Blue Print 2000-Citizen Oversight and Policing in the U.S.
NACOLE returned the conference to the Midwest in 1998 in recognition of Kansas City's 30th Anniversary of its Office of Citizen Complaints. Twenty states, 54 agencies and all regions of the country were represented.

Leslie Cornfeld, Deputy Chief of Civil Rights Division, US Attorney's New York Eastern District, delivered a compelling Keynote Address that detailed the Justice Department's work on police accountability and described the difficulties faced as they work to dismantle "code of silence" behaviors. Ms. Cornfeld supervised the prosecution of New York police officers involved in the Abner Louima brutality case.

Ms. Cornfeld contended that monitoring police agencies helps those agencies to overcome their natural and historic difficulty in uncovering officer misconduct. She urged focus on "code of silence" and abuse of authority offenses; to study the shifts or assignments that are most problematic; to conduct pattern and trend analyses and to conduct their own outreach.

The first Conference Panel examined Appropriate Use of Force. Merrick Bobb addressed the inherent difficulty oversight faces in drawing conclusions when witnesses give conflicting statements and no other evidence is presented. He suggested that when as fact finders, we are unable to draw a conclusion, that we list every reason we cannot do so, and from that list determine if the investigation is adequate. If the investigative record is insufficient, then we must report that, as it is a significant issue for a department to address. He reminded us no shortcuts exist in this work, and that in the end, the excellence of our work itself will establish the credibility of oversight.

On the following Panel, Monitoring Credibility, Moderator Teresa Guerrero-Daley of San Jose's Independent Police Auditor, was joined by San Diego Police Chief Dave Bejarano in discussing their two jurisdictions' pioneering work to document and analyze questionable traffic stops of racial minorities.

Palo Alto's Bob Aaronson brought a fresh angle of vision with his suggestion that monitoring law enforcement integrity is, at its core, the monitoring of communal and individual integrity; that officers do only what their cities and the citizens tolerate, and that like officers themselves, the oversight community must bring compassionate understanding to those whose behaviors may be neither compassionate nor understanding. Aaronson concluded communities have the moral responsibility to recognize what their police do in their name, adding that oversight can help bridge the distance between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

Next the first Complaint Case Study Practicum was held. Led by Denver Public Safety Review Commissioner Joe Sandoval and Sacramento Office of Police Accountability Director Don Casimere, attendees were given Investigative Guidelines and complainant, witness and police statement to investigate, and worked in small groups to explore their findings. This is particularly beneficial to practitioners who ordinarily can discuss cases only within individual jurisdictions and only among their local oversight peers. The case practicum format was acknowledged as particularly valuable in fostering inter-jurisdictional discussions of cases, and cross-fertilization of ideas among oversight professionals.

A final Panel, chaired by Philadelphia Police Advisory Committee Director Hector Soto, examined what new oversight agencies can expect in their early years. Pittsburgh City Councilman Sala Udin and ACLU Police Practices Project Director John Crew spoke with their characteristic passion, while Kansas City's Vice President of the Police Commission Joe Underhill and Tim Smith of the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police described different Midwest realities.

Indianapolis, Indiana, October 11-14, 1998: Citizen Oversight -Advancement, Enhancement and Survival Strategies
Moving to the heartland in 1998, NACOLE welcomed Indiana Congresswoman Julie Carson who delivered a Keynote addressing the need for effective civilian oversight of local and federal law enforcement agencies. Following panel discussions covered "Advocacy in Oversight;" "Special Problems Facing Oversight;" and "How to Foster Cooperation Between Oversight and Police Administrators."

Attendees came from as far away as Hawaii to the West, and Ireland to the East. Panel participants included Paul Chevigny, long recognized as an expert in police accountability in North and South America.

Oakland, California, Oct. 15-17, 1997: Advancing the Blue Print for Change
In the Keynote address Merrick Bobb, a recognized leader in the field of police accountability, challenged each of us to "become very curious" about every aspect of policing in our communities.

Panels addressed topics on "the Compatibility of Community Policing and Civilian Oversight;" "Models of Oversight;" "Youth and Police Issues;" and "Legislative Action and Outreach." Forty-four organizations were represented.

Speakers included Katherine Mader (Los Angeles); Sam Walker (University of Nebraska, Omaha); Sue Quinn (San Diego); Don Casimere (Richmond, Ca.) Joe Sandoval (Denver, Colo.); Jim Johnson (Cincinnati); Barbara Attard (Berkeley); Felicia Davis (Syracuse, NY). Citizen leaders included John Crew (San Francisco); Political and police leaders included Pittsburgh City Councilman Sala Udin, and former Portland Police Chief Penny Harrington (National Center for Women and Policing); Chief Wm. Landsowne (Richmond, Ca.).