(Washington, DC) – Representatives of the Office of Police Complaints (OPC) recently provided training and conducted workshops at a national police oversight conference held in San Diego, CA, from October 14-18, 2012. Each year the conference provides a forum for community members, oversight professionals, elected officials, and members of law enforcement to discuss a wide range of best practices for agencies that independently review the police.
The theme of this year’s annual conference, organized by the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE), was “Building Community Trust.”
OPC’s Executive Director Philip K. Eure moderated a panel of speakers, which included Special Assistant Nicole Porter, that discussed best practices in developing policy recommendations, while Deputy Director Christian J. Klossner led a roundtable discussion on using mediation to resolve complaints of police misconduct. The successful conference attracted nearly 300 participants from more than 29 states, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and six foreign countries.
“Our goal was to educate and provide tools to participants on how to effectively build greater trust between law enforcement and the public,” said Mr. Eure. “The conference was a great opportunity to share OPC’s experience while also learning what is working best for other similar agencies.”
The conference’s featured speaker was Erwin Chemerinsky, founding dean of the University of California Irvine School of Law, who spoke about the importance of independent police oversight agencies in light of recent Supreme Court decisions denying police misconduct victims access to federal courts. Conference attendees also heard noted civil rights activist Constance Rice discuss her transformation from an adversary of the Los Angeles Police Department to someone who actively partnered with them to effect change, highlighting the advantages of building bridges between police and the community.
OPC, which is governed by the Police Complaints Board (PCB), is a member of NACOLE. Eure is a past president of NACOLE.
NACOLE is a non-profit organization made up of citizen oversight agencies and individuals that work to reduce police misconduct and promote greater police accountability in the United States and across the nation. For more information about NACOLE and its 18th annual conference, visit www.nacole.org.
To learn more about OPC, visit our website at www.policecomplaints.dc.gov or the agency’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/OfficeofPoliceComplaints.