The Carlsbad City Council voted Tuesday to form a new commission focused on maintaining strong public trust and confidence by serving as a body to facilitate conversations between police and community.

In January, the city hired the Office of Independent Review Group, a consulting firm specializing in the independent review of police practices and civilian oversight of law enforcement. OIR Group was asked to consider community-police engagement models throughout the country and make a recommendation regarding how the Carlsbad Police Department could utilize one or more to enhance community engagement and trust.

Recommendations
On June 7, the OIR Group presented its report to the City Council. Of the two options presented, the City Council decided to form a commission. The other option was to have the Police Chief make regular presentations to City Council regarding the state of the department, use of force data, notable events, and efforts at community engagement.

The goal of the commission will be to foster strong police-community relations. The OIR group suggested several objectives for the new commission, such as:

• Promoting productive communication and interaction between the police and community
• Providing a forum for police leadership to inform the group (and the public) of police initiatives, challenges, and data relating to police activity
• Educating and receiving feedback from the community in the creation of policing standards and expectations
• Creating additional community access to public safety information
• Recommending changes or improvements to Police Department policy, procedures, or training
• Reviewing new or proposed Police Department programs to evaluate how those programs might impact disenfranchised and marginalized communities
• Providing a forum for presentations by police leadership on matters that receive high media interest or come to the attention of the Commission

Next steps
City staff will develop an ordinance for the City Council’s review later this year based on City Council’s feedback and the OIR Group’s recommendations. The ordinance will specify member qualifications, the appointment process, meeting frequency and other details. Once the ordinance is adopted and in effect, the city will recruit applicants and plan the first meeting.