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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmemoCITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM TO : FROM : The Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission ey`ic1%arcistsn, Bxecutive Director Civilian Investigative Panel (CIP) DATE: SUBJECT: REFERENCES: ENCLOSURES: August 9, 2004 2004-2005 Budget Proposal Civilian Inv. Panel (CIP) FILE RECOMMENDATION During the City Commission meeting of June 24, 2004, the Commission recommended that the CIP be the first agency to present its proposed budget for consideration. It is therefore respectfully requested that the City Commission consider and adopt the attached budget proposal to be presented by the Civilian Investigative Panel at the September 9, 2004 Commission meeting. The proposed budget has been submitted to the Chief of Strategic Planning and Budgeting for inclusion in the FY'2005 Budget requests. BACKGROUND The Civilian Investigative Panel (CIP) was created in February 2002 under Chapter 11.5 of the Code of the City of Miami and Ordinance No. 12188 ("Ordinance"), following a referendum in November 2001. The referendum was in response to citizens' demand for an enhanced civilian oversight agency, with subpoena power to conduct independent investigations of alleged police misconduct, and review the policies and procedures. Through its oversight function the CIP serves to enhance confidence and trust in the law enforcement practices of the Miami Police Department, utilizing its best efforts to ensure investigations are conducted in an impartial and fair process. The Ordinance called for the creation of a thirteen member panel to serve on a volunteer basis. The CIP currently consists of thirteen members, twelve of whom are appointed by the City Commission and one by the Chief of Police. All members, with the exception of the Chief's appointment, are permanent residents of the City of Miami, or work or maintain a business within the City. Members who served during Fiscal Year 2003-2004 include: Larry R. Handfield (Chairperson) Janet McAliley (Vice -Chair) Rudy de la Guardia (Treasurer) Thomas Rebull (Secretary) Donald Bierman Danny Couch Otis Davis Richard Dunn Jaime Perez John Ruiz Tangier Scott Brenda Shapiro Fred St. Amand Peter Roulhac (resigned) The purpose, powers and duties of the CIP are as follows: • To conduct investigations, inquiries and evidentiary hearings into allegations of police misconduct. • To request issuance of subpoenas for the purpose of obtaining evidence from witnesses, production of documents etc., after consultation with the State Attorney and CIP Independent Counsel. • To make factual determinations, facilitate resolutions and propose recommendations to the City Manager and Chief of Police. • To review and make recommendations regarding the Miami Police Department's existing policies and procedures, including training, recruitment and discipline and provide input to the Chief of Police prior to implementation of new or revised policies and procedures. • To issue reports to the Mayor, City Commission, City Attorney, City Manager, Chief of Police and the public. • To conduct regularly scheduled public meetings and to convene special and emergency meetings and public hearings as necessary. BUDGET REQUEST The CIP's requested budget for FY 2005 of $1,157,258 is $483,185 higher than the $674,073 allocated in FY 2004. The increase is primarily due to: (1) City Commission recommended, and Panel approved proposed hiring of a full-time counsel and a Chief Investigator; (2) the use of four private investigators/firms on an as -needed basis to conduct investigations for the CIP and (3) increases in various other expenses. ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2004 ADMINISTRATION, STAFFING AND DEVELOPMENT: • Appointed Shirley E. Richardson to the position of CIP Executive Director and hired additional professional level staff to include an Assistant Director, Research Analyst and Community Relations Liaison as well as clerical staff. • Researched and reviewed data from civilian oversight agencies nationwide for the development of the CIP operations and procedures, budget, staffing and training needs. • Prepared a draft CIF Employee Manual and Standard Operating Procedures. • Contracted with local law firm of Levine & Finger to function as Independent Counsel to the CIP. Counsel attends CIP regular and special meetings, 2 prepares/reviews legal documents and advises the Panel on legal issues. Fiscal Year 2004-2005 budget proposal includes hiring of a full-time, in-house counsel to the Panel. • Prepared Requests for Letters of Interest (RFLI) for Independent Private Investigators to the CIP. An Evaluation Committee reviewed ten (10) proposals of which four (4) were submitted and approved by the City Commission. • Provided information to the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) and individual oversight agencies interested in the CIP's model of police oversight. • Drafted Fiscal Year 2004-2005 budget projections and proposals for full Panel approval and submission to the City administration and Commission. POLICY REVIEW/ INVESTIGATIONS: • Received for investigation 40 complaints of police misconduct. Submitted copies of all complaints to the Miami Police Department with requests for responses. • Conducted two public hearings regarding police response during the November 2003 Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) ministerial conference demonstrations, both of which were attended by approximately 150 individuals, including representatives of civic groups, civil rights organizations and elected officials. • Hosted two FTAA related presentations by the Miami Police Department at which the Chief of Police and command level personnel provided oral and written reports on the actions taken by the Department in preparation for and during the FTAA conference. • Created four CIP sub -committees with each committee assigned to review specific issues related to the FTAA and present findings to the full Panel. The sub -committees have convened several meetings, reviewed pertinent materials, made public records requests for additional information and submitted interim reports on their meetings and accomplishments to the full Panel. • Created a data logging system to manage the voluminous records obtained on the FTAA. To date, CIP staff with the assistance of two summer interns have inputted information and summaries of sixty-two (62) FTAA related video tapes containing media, training and police surveillance footage. This is expected to facilitate swift and efficient retrieval of specific data/incident information for the CIP review and investigation on the FTAA demonstration and police response. 3 TRAINING: • Coordinated training for CIP members to include a 40-hour seminar on Police Internal Affairs at the Miami -Dade College School of Justice, 8-hour training retreat on Civilian Oversight of Police, presentations by the Miami -Dade State Attorney's Office and the upcoming, annual NACOLE conference. OUTREACH: • Disseminated multi-lingual CIP brochures and complaint forms to the Miami Police Department's headquarters and sub -stations and Neighborhood Enhancement Team (NET) offices for public information. Forms and information are also available to the public directly from the CIP Office and on the CIP web site. The CIP's full-time Community Relations Liaison will coordinate the CIP's outreach activities, to include public presentations and forums. • Coordinated with the Office of Communications to have CIP meetings televised on the City of Miami's Channel 9 and initiated discussions concerning additional coverage of the CIP through Public Service Announcements (PSA's). • Conducted regular monthly and special CIP meetings. (Maintained a quorum for all CIP regular and special meetings.) • Hosted discussions with foreign government officials, researchers, academicians and media personnel at the invitation of and in conjunction with the Miami Council for International Visitors Inc. and the U.S. Department of State. Additional meetings were conducted with representatives of community -based organizations on the civilian oversight process generally, the role of the community in policing and the development and authority, scope and function of the CIP. • Attended and participated in meetings of other local agencies and community organizations including the Miami -Dade County Independent Review Panel, City of Miami Community Relations Board and Neighborhood Enhancement Team community meetings. OBJECTIVES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005 ADMINISTRATION, STAFFING AND DEVELOPMENT: • To hire full-time in-house Counsel to provide legal services to the Panel and staff. • To finalize CIP Employee Manual and Standard Operating Procedures. • To complete the CIP's Fiscal Year 2003-2004 first comprehensive annual report. 4 • To review and propose changes to the CIP Ordinance in an effort to clarify ambiguities and address omissions POLICY REVIEW/INVESTIGATIONS: • To complete investigation and final report on law enforcement action during the November 2004 Free Trade of the Americas (FTAA) Ministerial Conference demonstrations. • To implement, in conjunction with the Miami Police Department's (MPD) Internal Affairs Section (LA.), a system for receipt and review of current and backlogged citizen police misconduct complaints submitted to and investigated by MPD personnel. • To conduct full and independent investigations into police misconduct complaints received directly from citizens and via referrals and submit policy/procedural recommendations to the Chief of Police, City Manager and City Commission as necessary. TRAINING: • To develop CIP employee skills through training in target areas such as customer service, community relations, communication, investigation and oversight, information technology, research and analysis. Ensure that CIP members complete all required training and re-training consistent with the CIP mandate and Ordinance. OUTREACH: • To follow through on the CIP mandate to structure and improve outreach projects and customer service through decentralized intake of complaints, regular and proactive public presentations, development of an interactive and user-friendly website and effective publication and direction to CIP services. Should additional information be required, please contact the CIP Executive Director or designee at (305) 579-2444. SER/caa 5