Committee goal: “To gain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the Criminal Justice system of San Diego County and advocate for best practices.”
At our April meeting, Andrea St. Julian spoke to us about the report that San Diegans for Justice had commissioned, to look at the existing San Diego County Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) and how it could be more effective as an oversight board of the Sheriff’s Office and the County Jails. The report came back with 70 recommendations that were grouped in topics such as “Jurisdiction, Scope and Powers” and “Pattern and Practices.” One of the highlights is that CLERB has created a committee to study the recommendations and they are very positive about those recommendations. Some could be implemented with approval by the Board of Supervisors but others may need to go to the ballot for implementation. Another reason for hope is that this report can be used by many jurisdictions in our county and beyond that either do not have a police review board or would like to improve the one they have.
Along with mentioning that San Diegans for Justice will be working with the League on supporting Ranked-Choice Voting, she said they have extended their work into Economic, Electoral and Criminal Justice.
The May meeting will be on Wednesday, May 11 at 12 noon on Zoom. You can access it by going to the League calendar.
Summary of Police Study Consensus Meeting – April 14, 2022, 5:30pm
The consensus meeting is part of the grassroots aspect of the League’s positions. Our positions, at every level of League, have all been derived from a study, and studies are the ways we create more positions. At each Annual Program Planning meeting, we are to review the existing positions to make sure they are still current and useful.
LWVSD and the LWVNCSD Leagues agreed in 2021 to do a joint study on the Policing Practices that occur throughout San Diego County. Members of both leagues volunteered. Committee members and their areas of study were:
| Eileen Coblens |
Traffic Stops |
| Margaret Baker, Jeanne Brown |
Surveillance |
| Anne Barron, Jeanne Brown, Bill Loftus |
Police in Schools |
| Stephanie Sontag |
Police Discipline |
| Nancy Sublette |
Police Unions |
| Barbara Burgamy, Pam Hunter |
Transparency |
| Alisa Prestie |
Technical Help |
| Simone Arias, Liz Kruidenier, Marjie Larson |
Additional Help |
At the April 14th meeting, which was held via Zoom, the committee presented the following statements, described how they arrived at the conclusion, and opened it up for questioning. Each committee member reviewed the supporting information for their statements, the questions were answered, and a poll was used to reach consensus.
The statements were as follows:
Policing Practices Study Consensus Statements
1. Racial and identity profiling by law enforcement is not acceptable. The LWVSD/LWVNCSD* supports effective data collection on law enforcement officer encounters with the community so that any bias can be determined and addressed.
2. Effective anti-bias training is necessary both in the initial training of new law enforcement officers and in regular refresher courses to reduce racial or identity profiling.
3. The LWVSD/LWVNCSD* supports seeking alternatives to the deployment of armed law enforcement officers in routine traffic stops as a means of reducing the number of such stops which escalate into violence.
4. Cities and counties should enact privacy and technology-use ordinances to protect privacy and other civil liberties. The proposed ordinances should include requirements for:
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Specified policy and data to be audited in an annual surveillance report that is publicly available.
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Evidence of crime-prevention effectiveness, civil rights impact, fiscal costs, and source of funding for surveillance technology;
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Establishment of independent civilian commissions at the local jurisdiction level which consist of representatives of involved communities of interest such as civil rights advocates, attorneys, marginalized groups, specialists in technology, privacy and open government, to oversee all law enforcement and government acquisition and use of technology for surveillance;
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Enforcement of violations of the ordinances; and
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Whistleblower protections.
5. Abolish the current system of law enforcement officers in schools and replace it with systemic restorative practices and other proven programs. Replace law enforcement officers with student mentors, counselors, and strive for better cohesion with other county/city offices that offer family support and restorative justice programs.
6. Law enforcement officers assigned to schools should not be armed. Rather, law enforcement agencies should provide additional training in mental health, restorative practices and de-escalation.
7. Law enforcement agencies should keep records of all complaints made against a law enforcement officer for at least five years with the records reviewed at least once a year to determine if there is a pattern of misbehavior.
8. An investigation should be conducted of all complaints, however received, with the complainant informed of the action taken to ensure officers are held to a strict standard of behavior.
9. All law enforcement agencies should have a published list of misconduct and expected punishment for the breach of those standards to clarify expectations for both the officers and the public.
10. The League supports restricting law enforcement collective bargaining to salaries, working conditions, benefits, and aspects of workers compensation; any other topics would need public notification and input.
*the position will include the name of the League which adopts the statement.
Outcomes of the Meeting:
All statements were approved as written with the exception of the following:
Statement 1 will have the word “all” inserted before law enforcement officer encounters…
Statement 5 will start with “Work towards abolishing” the current system of law enforcement officers…
We will be presenting the final positions to both of the two boards in May and to the members again at their June 4 (LWVNCSD) and June 11 (LWVSD) Annual Meetings.