Community groups in the Twin Cities are advocating for a citizen-led review board to monitor and weigh in on the actions of the Bloomington Police Department. Bloomington Police Chief Brendan Heffner has resisted the call, saying citizens don't understand the intricacies of police work.
But there are many citizen led review boards across the country, including in Illinois. Perhaps the oldest is in Lincoln, Nebraska. That state's capital city with a population of just over 270,000 has had some aspect of a citizen led police advisory board since the 1970's.
Jeffrey Bliemeister has been Lincoln's Chief of Police for just under a year. He has become an unabashed fan of Lincoln's Citizen Police Advisory Board (CPAB.)
"I think it is a tremendous positive," said Bliemeister. "It provides our community members with the opportunity to participate in the decision making process and the policy making process of our agency. It also provides a group reflective of the population we serve, with insight into our daily operation."
Bliemeister said he also views the board as an independent body that can offer Lincoln PD a fresh pair of eyes on departmental policies and procedures.
"Are we meeting the expectations of the citizens we serve, and in particular the ones that are bringing forward a complaint?" asked Bliemeister. "They're very objective in looking at the fact pattern, and they're asking the hard questions. And we're being responsive to that."
The Lincoln Citizen Police Advisory Board consists entirely of citizens. Bliemeister characterized the board's makeup as diverse, citing business owners, retirees, University of Nebraska employees, and defense attorney's as examples of citizen volunteers that serve on the board. He said members are selected through the mayor's office or through an on-line process, neither of which has police input.
Lincoln has a formal complaint process apart from the CPAB, though the two can overlap if either a complainant is unhappy with the result, or the department determines a complaint is serious enough for it to notify the complainant that filing with the CPAB is an option.
An overview of the Lincoln complaint process and the CPAB process can be read here and here. Once in motion, the complainant and police officer(s) will meet with two members of the CPAB, and separately with the Lincoln PD Internal Affairs. Each files separate reports and presents them to a regularly scheduled meeting of the CPAB as a whole.
There are a number of police departments nationwide leery of incorporating a citizen-led police review or advisory board. Among other concerns, they argue citizens don't understand the nature of police work or how a department operates. Bliemeister said that's not his experience as Lincoln's Chief, and actually argues for even more citizen input into departmental affairs, including hiring.
"The majority of the Citizens Police Advisory Board members have participated in other decision making processes on policies and procedures within our agencies, so we have some insight there," said Bliemeister. "We also make an invitation to our 10-week citizens academy, where it gives ALL citizens an opportunity who want to participate a glimpse into all the different decisions and work we do."
Bliemeister conceded the citizen advisory board is something he eventually had to come to appreciate over the course of his first nine months as Lincoln's police chief. Now, he doesn't view citizen input as a necessary evil, but as a valuable tool.
"There can be a knee-jerk reaction that this is another hurdle in trying to maintain a trust internally with our employees," said Bliemeister. "But it's definitely not. It's how you frame the conversation and frame the issue. As long as it's embedded in our culture, which it is, that we are responsive to the needs of every single form. Even if they are not happy with what happened, we need to take a look at it and have that oversight. If we're debating 'wants' and 'needs,' this is a need. It's not a want."
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