Police and Administrative "Accountability" and the UCB Police Review Board

For more information on the workings of the Police Review Board.
http://administration.berkeley.edu/prb/PoliceReviewProcedures.htm

After years of UCPD violence, secrecy, and sexual harassment, we at Reclaim UC thought UCB students might be interested in the process of filing a police misconduct complaint with the UCB Police Review Board. You might also have a few questions and concerns about how members of the Board are actually selected.

Here are some highlights:

1. All complaints are forwarded to the Chief of UCPD.

2. Complaints against the Chief of Police (Chief), Assistant Chiefs of Police (Assistant Chiefs), or Captains are excepted from the Board's jurisdiction (except in rare exceptional circumstances).

3. The Chair is "an individual of judicial temperament and background," often a currently serving law professor. In most misconduct complaints since 2009, the Chair has historically sided with UCPD and with the administration. The Vice Chancellor shall consult with the members of the Police Review Board before making a final selection of the Chair.

4. The Board has one sworn police officer who has retired or resigned in good standing from active service as a police officer. This member of the Board may be a member of UCPD 5 years after retirement.

5. All members of the Board are appointed for a year by the Vice Chancellor.

6. The two student appointees are part of the ASUC, an organization which has historically sided with UCPD and with the administration.

The entire complaints system must be submitted to the Chief of UCPD before the complainant is even able to meet with the Review Board. This includes an interview with the Chief or a designated representative of the Chief. Of course this structure severely discourages complaints because complainants must first be vetted by the very system they are lodging a complaint against.

The outcome of the entire process is dependent upon the personal judgment of the Vice Chancellor, based on a reading of the report provided by the Review Board.

Though UCPD conducts police operations, it does not have to meet the minimal standards of legal accountability applied to actual police departments.