Evanston’s Citizens’ Police Advisory Committee may finally be ready to begin advising.
The committee, aimed at giving regular citizens a hand in overseeing police behavior, will meet for the first time Monday, committee member Harriet Sallach said.
The committee was originally announced last February and approved last June. Since then, logistical problems have prevented the committee from beginning to work, police said.
The biggest problem has been finding enough volunteers who are willing to meet the requirements of the committee, Evanston Police Chief Richard Eddington said.
“This is a substantial time commitment,” he said.
Eddington said that for the committee’s first two months, seven to 10 hours per month will be required because committee members will have to learn how to understand and analyze police reports and other materials. After that, the time commitment will probably decrease, he said.
According to Eddington, a number of potential committee members said they would serve but ended up not wanting to meet the demands.
But Sallach said she thinks the time sacrifice will be worth it.
“It will be a major commitment of time,” the 65-year-old said. “But I think it’s an important enough situation, and I think the circumstances can be significant enough that we need to understand thoroughly how the system works.”
A group of Evanston residents proposed the creation of the committee last year after years of observing police behavior they said was inappropriate. They sought to establish an independent review board to look into questionable behavior.
The committee will receive the same information as the police department’s in-house Human Services Committee and pass their findings on to police.
The residents planned for the committee to have nine representatives, with one representing each ward. But rather than lengthening the process even further to find three more members, police said they’ve decided to just start with the six trained members they have right now.
“I think we’re going to go with the quorum option,” Eddington said.
Even after residents are ready to commit their time to the committee, they have to go through a political process in order to be seated.
“They have to submit a letter to the mayor,” said Ald. Delores Holmes (5th). “The mayor makes a recommendation to the council and the council approves it.”
She added that she supported the formation of the committee and was looking forward to it operating at “full capacity.”
Group members have already attended two “review sessions,” held in November and December, covering topics such as local and state law.
Sallach, who attended both sessions, said the training was “really important.”
Another session will be held on Jan. 26, Eddington said.
The meetings are scheduled to be held at EPD’s station, 1454 Elmwood Ave., the third Monday of the month, Sallach said.
“I think it’s a really important aspect,” she said. “With democracy, we have a representative form of government and people need to participate in the governmental aspects in various ways.”
Brian Rosenthal contributed reporting.
