A year into the program, the Urbana Civilian Review Police Board wants to increase awareness about its availability to the public.
The board released its first yearly report on Sept. 28.
Todd Rent, human relations officer, said there were eight complaints filed against police officers from April 2008 to April 2009.
Of these complaints, six were dismissed, two required corrective action and zero were appealed. Rent said the police department had over 30,000 interactions with civilians during that time period.
Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing said she initiated the ordinance to establish the review board to follow up on police–related issues.
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“The motive was not that we have a bad police force but that we have a great police force, and this is just basic accountability,” Prussing said. “We want to give civilians with complaints an impartial party to go to.”
Brandon Bowersox, Ward 4 Alderman, said the implementation of the board and its procedure were good first steps.
However, reaching out to the community is the next goal because the board will not be helpful if nobody knows about it.
“This year is going to be about letting the community know what they can do if they feel they were mistreated,” Rent said.
He said that the board is exploring different options for reaching out to the public.
“The major goal is the implementation of community outreach,” Rent said.
Rent said finding a seventh member for the board will also be a priority throughout this next year.
Diane Marlin, Ward 7 Alderwoman, said she believes that the public needs to know about the board; however, it is important to recognize that the board’s procedures is changing.
“The board is still fairly young, but we are ahead as far as most cities are concerned,” Marlin said. “I think we’re right where we should be, but we need to build public awareness.”
Rent said making the board available to the public will be important for this coming year.
“It’s going to be about getting out to the community,” Rent said. “We want to let the community know that things can be done to improve relations between civilians and the police.”
