(a) Community Engagement Process. Before agendizing any proposal to establish, modify, or abolish policies or procedures related to Police Department operations, the Police Commission shall first publish a notice regarding the proposal on its website. The Department shall then have 90 days to hold community meetings to solicit public feedback on any existing policies or procedures that may be affected, with at least one community meeting at each district station. Each community meeting shall have a neutral facilitator selected jointly by the Chief of Police and the Commission President. The facilitator shall chair the meetings, encourage dialogue between community members and the Department and Commission, and post written summaries online before any Commission meeting where any proposed change will be considered. The purpose of this community engagement shall be to describe the existing policies and procedures, solicit feedback on their implementation and impacts, and identify possible changes, rather than to consider specific draft proposals or to advocate for particular positions or changes. The Commission may begin holding public meetings on proposed changes only after the Commission President and Chief of Police have consulted each other, at the close of the 90-day community engagement period, on whether the community meetings are complete. If either the Commission or the Department convene a working group to consider a change to a policy or procedure, they may do so only after the consultation described in the foregoing sentence, and any working group should include subject matter experts, community members with experience in the criminal justice system, merchants, business owners, victims of crimes, and current or former police officers.
(b) Waiver by the Chief of Police. This Section 96I.1 is intended to help the Commission and Department receive public feedback on whether proposed changes to policies and procedures governing Department operations will impact the Department’s ability to efficiently and effectively serve the community. The Chief of Police may waive the requirements of this section 96I.1 based on whether the proposed changes are unlikely to have a substantial impact on the Department’s ability to serve the community, the amount of public feedback already received on the subject matter, the need for immediate action, and such other factors as the Chief may deem appropriate.
(c) Other Notice Requirements. This Section 96I 1 is not intended to impair any other notice requirements that may apply to the Commission, such as the 10-day notice required under Charter Section 4.104(a).
(Added by Proposition E, 3/5/2024, Eff. 4/12/2024)
CODIFICATION NOTE
1. So in Proposition E, 3/5/2024.