OIR Group Report May 2020

Page 62

their own investigation and review.26 By assigning an expert to conduct a review before the criminal justice and administrative process had been completed and by then disseminating the findings, it potentially compromised those other processes and set up a possibility of contrary and competing findings. RECOMMENDATION 39: The Department and other City officials should consider new and less contentious ways of dealing with its critics, particularly in the context of pending litigation, and should work to ensure that its litigation posture does not interfere with the rigor and objectivity of its administrative reviews.

Transparency and Community Engagement Department Website As mentioned above, the Department’s website offers a significant amount of new information related to prior officer-involved shootings and other critical incidents. This is a response to new state law requirements. Similarly, another state bill that recently took effect requires police agencies to post their manuals and training materials on-line. VPD has met this new obligation as well. That said, the current website configuration makes it difficult for a member of the general public to locate the information. Unless an individual was familiar with the relevant statutes or the number of the legislation behind the new transparency mandates, readily finding on-line information is a difficult chore. The police website – and the public – would benefit from addressing this through a reorganization. Clear headings and explanatory materials would make the site easier to navigate, and would reflect a recognition of the spirit as well as the letter of these new laws. Indeed, we would also encourage the Department to consider additional ways it could use its website to increase public engagement and awareness. Potential examples include offering aggregate data about uses of force and misconduct allegations, and promoting different agency initiatives that might benefit from public involvement. By going beyond requirements and affirmatively sharing

It seems unlikely that a report finding a shooting out of policy or critical of the officers’ performance would have been disseminated the same way. 26

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