New Haven Independent

Posted by: Rob Smuts | May 31, 2007 4:39 PM

Two corrections on a good article:

1) The CRB was created in early 2001 (not 2004). The coordinator is paid $65,659 and they draw from my office's "rentals and services" of $23,202, and my "materials & supplies" of $1200 (reduced from $1530 last year).

2) I am keeping an open mind about what we will support, but I said it might be difficult to accomplish some of the points Ms. Jones laid out (not that "some of their recommendations would be hard for his office to support"). For instance, her proposal sets a time limit of 90 days for investigations to be completed - while we should always aim for quick investigations, the state's attorney, US attorney, FBI and whomever else you could mention that conducts similar types of investigations all often take much, much longer. The underlying concern is important, however, which is why a dialogue about how to address these issues should be fruitful. That is: it's a good and important idea, but one we'll have to do some work in order to find a feasible way of implementing it.

I look forward to speaking with Ms. Jones and Mr. Dawson more on this important issue.

Posted by: OH WELL | June 1, 2007 5:46 PM

The money that has been used to pay this perf group could have been better used. If we can sit down stop and think, it is known that New Haven is a close connected city ,EVERY thing that is worth something has to be shared (Metro).Anything that needs a lot of money and support is New Haven Burden example(housing Homeless people) so we have a panel of3 the area people sit on the review board , 2 outsider's 1 New Haven Elected Official one Doctor , One Clergy, one from juvenile dept 3other people and get this civian review board going with some POWER. It is a lot broken in the police Dept. Let get this ball going

Posted by: Mrs. D | June 1, 2007 10:08 PM

It stuns me that anyone would listen to this woman, much less take her advice. It's too bad her son made such a bad decision that it killed him. It's too bad that she failed to explain to him the simple premise 'if a police officer stops you, you stop'. End of story. She needs to stop blaming the police for protecting the rest of us from her criminal son.
Surely there are better parents out there for the board to ask advice from. Remember,a society that makes war with it's police had better start making friends with it's criminals.
This is her last appearance? Thank God!

Posted by: please | June 2, 2007 10:41 AM

Mr. Smuts, that's all well and good. Mr. Ude's comments were accurate too.

But you fail to perceive the fact that the mayor's office has almost zero credibility with most informed citizens on the issue of police officer integrity, nor does most of the panel he put together to look at the billy white affair.

Neither does the state's attorney's office.

What the community wants is very simple. The only difficulty is your refusal to fork it over:

The community wants criminal officers off the force and a city government that doesn't spend all its time covering up for them.

The community wants cops who file bogus reports gone. Wants cops who enjoy using excessive force gone. Wants cops involved in domestic violence gone. wants cops accused of crimes to be held to the same standards as ordinary citizens -- in other words, prosecuted with the same rabid zealotry the new haven state's attorney goes after every other allegation, no matter how baseless.

Posted by: please again | June 2, 2007 11:11 AM

Tax payers should support another independent review body with investigators to look into complaints for referral for criminal prosecution, wihtout subpoena power for now (Since change of state law would be required to initiate subpoena power) Those not rising to level of crime, can be referred to the office of Internal Ethics for investigation by police and in turn bumped up to a CRB.

Can be proposed locally or statewide. If statewide, maybe can be married to the Innocence Commission, and there can be one for each judicial district. Although Innocence commissions are focused heavily on DNA exoneration, they already have an understanding of falsely accused for more minor crimes, or crimes where there is no conviction or even DNA evidence.

We can increase funding through federal and state dollars to create the commissions and hire investigators.

Subpoena power and immunity for coerced testimony are a serious bar. Police will not take some criminal complaints against officers now except through Internal affairs, where they can be coerced into testifying but the testimony has limited use.

Alternatively, and maybe more cost effective -- drastically alter our concept of police officers. Make it a career that no longer attracts wife beaters, guys who tortured animals as kids, students who scored low on school tests throughout their lives (So unintelligent that when you hear them talk about what probable cause is you have to wince they are so incompetent), people obsessed with violence and assault rifles, guys with an irresistable attraction to personal power, people with infantile-level sense of duty ie - being unable to see beyond duty to themselves, their friends, their boss to anything larger that they serve.

1. Make it pay much better
2. Make a college degree a prerequisite. A full four-year degree.
3. Quit discouraging the people who max out on the test scores -- recruit and hire them aggressively.

oh, as well, prosecute and getting rid of any that pull these stunts or abuse the job after they get on the force.

Make it so that making up fake crimes is no longer considered cool, and beleive me, it is considered pretty cool right now, as if it is one of a thousand perks that go along with being a cop, along with not having to face prosecution for that and other crimes.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | June 3, 2007 9:19 PM

Ms.D
A Review Board Is Need To Bring Balance. If The Police Are So Good What About Billy White, How About Sean Bell In New York Shoot Fifty Times.
The Old Grandmother In Atlanta Georgia Who The Police Killed and They Planted False Evidence To
Make It Look Like She Was Dealing Drugs!! How About Mr. James Tillman Who Just Got Out Of Jail.
You Need A Review Board To Bring Balance. P.S.
Rember The Story Of The New York Cop Frank Serpico
Who Police Try To Kill Him For Not Taking Money.

Posted by: blackdog | June 4, 2007 9:06 AM

I fully support any necessary measures for internal and external police review. But I can't help noticing how, now that budget season has passed, people here are throwing out proposals costing hundreds of thousands of dollars with nary a thought to the budget. Armchair policymaking is all well and good--the more ideas out there the better--but "please." Remember how much these things cost next year when scrutinizing the budget, or this year when it comes time to vote for mayor again. As always in America, everyone wants more services, but nobody wants to pay for them...

Posted by: please again | June 4, 2007 8:16 PM

Blackbog:

Which is why I proposed drastically altering requirements for being a police officer. All this other expensive oversight would not be half as desperately needed if we hired better cops, period.

Yes, you'd have to raise officer pay, but you would get more bang (forgive the pun) for your buck.

We need intelligent educated officers and we need to break the back of a culture.

So recruit and pay top notch people, people who would never think of becoming cops in america today because of what being a cop is in america today. People who know and understand that New haven is trying to do something very very very different than anything done anywhere else in this country.

Posted by: please | June 4, 2007 8:22 PM

I could add to the requirments some more -- that we demand diversity -- poeple who have been doing all kinds of interesting things with their lives - activists, transvestites, whatever.

let the police department mirror the progressive community new haven really wants to be.

give it bucketloads of PR, promote it as a massive change and then back that up with a real committment.

Tell your politico friends to lay off them unless it is dire because too much new haven arm twisting will cause them to all quit, and voila, you have a great new police force.

Pay, and promote something radically new and they will come.

Make it a 10-year transition