Get Informed About Police Reform, Pt. III: Civilian Oversight - July 22, 2020
Civilian Oversight Done Right: Transforming Policing Through Robust Civilian Review
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
6:30-8:15 pm
Who holds the police accountable? Are all forms of civilian oversight of law enforcement the same? How important is it for civilian oversight to include auditing authority and subpoena power? Should decisions about community input into policing primarily be made at the statewide or local level? And most of all -- how can we turn our urgent need for robust civilian oversight into law?
If you're new to the concept of civilian review boards and civilian oversight of police departments -- most of us are -- but you love the idea, and want to learn more about how to implement it the right way, we have the event for you. Part III of our summer series, "Get Informed About Police Reform" is titled "Civilian Oversight Done Right: Transforming Policing Through Robust Civilian Review," and is all about oversight of and community input into policing. Best of all, we've assembled almost ALL of the statewide experts on this subject: Fairfax NAACP, Legal Aid Justice Center, and the Richmond Transparency and Accountability Project. Thanks to Legal Aid Justice Center, our literature (posted on Justice Forward's website) has been co-signed by the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. Did we say we had experts? We have experts!
Join guests Sean Perryman (President, Fairfax NAACP), Sarah Burke (former Charlottesville Civilian Review Board), Yohance Whitaker (Legal Aid Justice Center), Keisha Cummings (Richmond Transparency and Accountability Project) and Justice Forward's own Brad Haywood on July 22 as we host a live "explainer" on what civilian oversight is all about, the real-life experiences of activists in Virginia, and lessons for the future as Virginia's endeavors to legislate on this topic. This just might be the most promising of all policing-specific criminal justice reforms, and because it's a new subject in the General Assembly, we all have a lot to learn!
The live feed will be available on Facebook Live, and will be recorded and posted to YouTube.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks, as well! As noted, this is the third in our summer series of "explainer" events ("Get Informed About Police Reform") intended to help the general public better understand criminal justice policy so you can be equipped to join our movement as effective volunteer advocates.