In February, the Evanston Police Department responded to allegations of police harassment by announcing the formation of a new citizen committee to review police actions.
More than eight months later, the Police Advisory Committee has not reviewed a single case. In fact, it has yet to convene.
“We haven’t actually started meeting yet,” said Harriet Sallach, the Ninth Ward representative on the committee. “We’re still in the process of getting started. The orientation and training has started.”
The committee was formed after a small group raised concerns regarding police treatment of suspects, alleging that police were inappropriately harassing citizens. It was formally approved in June and charged with reviewing police officers’ behavior and informing other EPD committees of its findings.
One of the major problems with getting the committee off the ground is that it is designed to have one member from each ward.
“They wanted to have everything organized first before we actually started,” Sallach said. “They wanted to have a representative from every ward. To make sure that that was settled, they’ve had to proceed at the pace that it’s going.”
The police department also has to make sure committee members have sufficient knowledge before they begin to do the work they are assigned. This also has taken time.
The biggest cause of the delay has been bureaucratic, “getting a training time for those busy volunteers to come in and get some background from the Department of Justice and the Department of Professional Standards,” said Evanston Police chief Richard Eddington.
In the meantime, the department has begun the orientation process by sending relevant information to the members.
“I’ve just received some mailings from Chief Eddington concerning initial meetings, which I believe are in a few weeks,” said Robert Egan, the Sixth Ward representative.
Those meetings are scheduled for Nov. 25 and Dec. 2, and will cover a variety of topics. The first will cover current EPD policy and procedure, Eddington said. The second meeting will include a look at Illinois state law, as well as a visit from a Department of Justice representative who will “give some relevant information regarding citizen police review.”
Though it seems to be slow going, committee members do not seem worried about the process.
“The police department has been responsible about sending out orientation materials, so that we would be able to feel like it was in motion and getting started,” Sallach said.
After the training is complete, the committee will meet and act as an outside observer on cases, following a specific procedure.
“They will see the same summary that is currently for the human services committee and ask any questions with regards to the investigation and procedures of protocol,” Eddington said.
Eddington said that the committee will meet regularly, though the exact schedule has yet to be finalized.
“Tentatively they will meet on a monthly basis, and it is a sequential issue,” he said. “They need to meet in a time frame compliant with the human services committee.”
Despite the lapse in time since its announcement and approval, Eddington is still confident that the Police Advisory Committee will fulfill its intended purpose.
“The focal point of the endeavor is to add a transparency to the process so that the public is aware how we go about reviewing officer conduct,” he said.
