(Washington, D.C.)  – The Office of Police Complaints (OPC), the District of Columbia’s civilian oversight agency, will host Hakan Arikan, a chief inspector to the Inspection Board of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Interior on December 1, 2014.

During his visit to OPC, Arkan will meet with the agency’s Executive Director Michael G. Tobin, Deputy Director Christian J. Klossner, Chief Investigator Mona Andrews, and Special Assistant Nicole Porter to learn more about civilian oversight of law enforcement in the District of Columbia and the United States.

Agency staff will also discuss OPC’s mediation program and its policy recommendation work, which details ways to improve citizen interactions with officers and enhance police accountability.

“OPC is looking forward to hosting Mr. Arkan and sharing information about the work we do here in the District,” said Tobin.  “These are very useful give-and-take sessions and we enjoy learning from the experiences of those involved in civilian oversight abroad.”

Arkan is currently a Humphrey Fellow at American University Washington College of Law.  The Humphrey Fellowship Program is a part of the Fulbright Program funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education.

As a Chief Inspector to the Inspection Board of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Interior, Akan investigates complaints and allegations about law enforcement officials, mayors, governors and inspects them on a periodic basis.

For more information about Turkey’s Ministry of Interior, visit http://www.mia.gov.tr/.   To learn more about OPC, visit www.policecomplaints.dc.gov.