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| NEWS > 05 September 2006 |
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Secrets of the Police
The city of New York is waging a losing and ill-conceived battle for overzealous secrecy surrounding nearly 2,000 arrests during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Yesterday, for the second time in three months, a federal judge ordered the release of hundreds of pages of documents that detail the Police Department’s covert surveillance leading to the convention. People who were detained, some for days and without explanation, may finally begin to get some answers.
If the decision by Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV stands, the documents may figure in scores of lawsuits cha... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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Boston Globe - United States
05 September 2006
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Police watchdog needs bite
AFTER SEVERAL fits and starts, the Menino administration has emerged with a respectable model to provide civilian oversight in cases of alleged police misconduct. But the three-member board favored by Mayor Menino will only be as effective as its yet-to-be-announced members are independent and levelheaded.
There is some disappointment already that the board will not have investigative or subpoena powers. This is most acutely felt in minority communities where relations between police and residents are sometimes tense. At a minimum, the mayor should ensure that responsible leaders in neighborhoods where police activity is greatest have a significant role in recommending the ombudsmen who will review all serious allegations of police misconduct, such as abuse of force, dismissed by the Internal Affairs department. Ombudsmen will also review a random sample of cases and follow up on complaints from residents who believe that their cases were not resolved properly by the department. In the long run, however, the board's most important function could prove to be policy recommendations that advance police accountability.
Even though there appears to be no legal requirement that the ombudsmen live in Boston, Menino is leaning toward a residency requirement for the positions. It would be a mistake, however, to elevate a home address above principles and specialized talent . The city's residency requirement makes sense when viewed as a general jobs program for Bostonians who have watched employment opportunities drift away to the suburbs. But it needn't apply to part-time ombudsmen performing a public service for modest stipends. Professor David Hall, the former dean of the Northeastern Law School and an expert in the fields of professional ethics and social justice, comes quickly to mind as a strong choice despite his lack of a Boston address.
Menino's model differs considerably from others around the country, especially in limiting full-time positions to just one executive secretary. It may require tweaking. The mayor would be wise to create an ongoing role for the Institute on Race and Justice at Northeastern University, which provided him with the background research needed to craft an evenhanded police review board.
Menino values loyalty and longstanding ties. But the credibility of the board requires that its members be free of connections to City Hall and police headquarters. The mayor should take special care to appoint only people who know law enforcement and fully appreciate how incidents of excessive force, verbal abuse, and racial profiling on the part of a few officers can undermine trust in an entire police department .
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