Dutchess Sheriff’s Office offers suggestions for Civilian Review Board

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POUGHKEEPSIE – The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office has presented a proposal to the county legislature for the creation of a Civilian Review Board.  The board suggestion is part of the sheriff’s office Police Reform and Modernization Plan.

 

According to Acting Sheriff Kirk Imperati, the office is striving to meet the current needs of the county by being “more accountable and transparent.”  The sheriff’s office is exploring the implementation of a civilian review board for the Law Enforcement Division.

 

Imperati recently told the lawmakers that his proposal is to have the review board be a sub-committee of the existing Dutchess County Criminal Justice Council with membership restricted to county residents.

The county Criminal Justice Council, in conjunction with the sheriff’s office, would look to create a structure, set responsibilities, and duties, and create necessary processes for the review board.

Once formed, the Civilian Review Board would function as a review and advisory committee. The composition of the board and the exact structure will be developed by the sheriff’s office and the criminal justice council with input from the community.  Imperati has recommended that appointees will be selected by a panel of members of the sheriff’s office and justice council.

The acting sheriff is also recommending that the appointees be required to attend the DCSO Civilian Police Academy offered by his office.  Review board members would gain a full understanding of law enforcement functions in the academy, including training on basic law, criminal procedure, procedural justice, implicit bias, use of force, and a number of other topics.

 

“The purpose of this training is to provide the Civilian Review Board members with as much information as possible so they can objectively look at the information provided to them by the Sheriff’s Office,” Imperati noted.

 

The Civilian Review Board may be provided with the following information tracked by the sheriff’s office Internal Affairs Bureau:

  • Annual Use of Force Tracking Report
  • Annual Community Survey Report
  • Employee Evaluation Report
  • Founded Complaints of Misconduct
  • Founded Use of Force Violations
  • Sheriff’s office Rules and Regulations
  • All general and specific orders

Imperati said he believes that a Civilian Review Board will assist with law enforcement transparency and increase public trust in his office by providing relevant information for their review.

In Dutchess County, the City of Poughkeepsie began the process of creating a CRB more than a year ago.




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