LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles Police Commission today announced it will create an advisory committee on trust-building with residents and make a series of reforms to establish more accountability and transparency within the police department.
“We've been given a moment to re-imagine public safety in Los Angeles, and I'm working closely with the Police Commission and the department to grow a model of just, responsible and community-centered policing that can be an example for the entire country,'' said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “These reforms are extraordinary steps on a longer road to justice.''
The advisory committee will be comprised of policy specialists, legal experts and community leaders who will assist the Police Commission in conducting a comprehensive review of Los Angeles Police Department policies and procedures and deliver recommendations for additional reforms, the Police Commission stated.
“We welcome this opportunity to work with the Board of Police Commissioners and this esteemed advisory committee to build on this department's decades of historic reform,'' said LAPD Chief Michel Moore. “We are at a crossroads in the evolution of policing, and the men and women of this organization embrace a progressive agenda of reforms that further strengthen public trust, increase transparency and demonstrate accountability.''
The committee will review discipline and accountability policies, assess current policing reform proposals being considered throughout the country and evaluate the implementation of past LAPD reform proposals. It will also be tasked with examining the LAPD's recruitment, hiring, retention and training process, and analyzing data collection and retention practices.
Committee members include former White House advisers and leaders of faith-based organizations as well as other experts in social justice.
In conjunction with the work of the advisory committee, the Police Commission will organize a series of citywide community meetings to solicit feedback and ideas for reform.
According to the commission, the advisory committee is expected to complete its work by the end of the 2020 calendar year.
“The commission is deeply committed to adopting meaningful and transformative reform measures that will build trust among all Angelenos,'' Police Commission President Eileen Decker said. “The advisory committee will provide valuable assistance in accelerating the commission's policy work and developing a critical road map for future policy reforms.''
In addition to establishing the committee, the commission said an independent review is currently taking place on LAPD's response to the protests following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police officers there.
The review is being conducted by the National Police Foundation, an independent nonpartisan organization, and will focus specifically on police tactics, deployment, command and control, and use of munitions between May 29 and June 7.
Other steps the Police Commission said it has taken were a ban on the carotid restraint control hold in training and in practice, the development and implementation of revised in-custody death adjudication protocols and the discontinuation of using the CalGangs Database.
The commission stated the LAPD will submit an annual report on the Use of Force to the California Department of Justice and to the United States Department of Justice, including additional details about the circumstances related to each incident.
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