About the Civilian Oversight Board

Mission

To provide transparency and the accountability of the St. Louis City Police Department while ensuring community confidence.

Goals

To ensure community confidence, build bridges between law enforcement and the community, and to provide an independent review process. The COB will address concerns about St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's (SLMPD) operations, practices, and activities as well as bring an additional perspective to the St. Louis Metropolitan City Police Department decision making process and to ensure balance between public safety, civil rights and community concerns.

Strategy

The Board will conduct independent, impartial, thorough and timely investigations into allegations of police misconduct made against the St. Louis City Metropolitan Police Department officers with respect to the rights of all parties involved. In addition, the Board will build bridges between the community and the St. Louis City police by keeping lines of communication open to the community and civic leaders before and after any incidents. The COB will convey concerns and needs of the community to the police and report back to the community through outreach.

Responsibilities

The COB will receive complaints and monitor the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) Internal Affairs Division (IAD) investigations regarding those complaints.The COB will review, analyze, investigate and make independent findings and recommendations on complaints from the community against officers of the SLMPD with respect to the rights of all parties involved.

The Board can refer willing participants to mediation on matters deemed appropriate.

It is critical that the Commission serve as a bridge between the community and the St. Louis City Police Department. The Commission shall dedicate itself to ongoing outreach efforts by conducting Town Hall meetings, in addition to its own regular meetings.

Bringing the Board's work and meetings directly into the community and enhancing the public's understanding of the Police Department will be critical. It is necessary to emphasize to both the public and law enforcement the duty to respect and obey the laws of the Constitution in dealings with law enforcement in order to prevent or mitigate the likelihood of violations of the law.

The COB will review, analyze and where appropriate solicit public input and make recommendations to the St. Louis City Police Department regarding policies, operations, and procedures affecting the community or make recommendations to create additional operational policies and procedures.

Investigate, analyze, solicit input and make recommendations to the Board and the SLMPD related to issues or complaints affecting the community.

The COB will function as a bridge between the Police Department and the community by providing the community an additional means of giving input to the police department, obtaining answers from the police department to community concerns about operations, practices and activities. Furthermore the Board will bring an additional perspective to SLMPD decision making to ensure ongoing communications and balance between public safety and constitutional, civil and human rights, and communicate community concerns to the SLMPD that otherwise may not be clear.