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Chapter 17. Characteristics of Effective Oversight <br />What are the necessary components of effective oversight? <br />There is no right answer as to what an effective police oversight body "must' look like. <br />Over time, many have found that flexibility is key; however, there are some features that <br />effective police oversight shares, and they are as follows: <br />A. Independence. The oversight body must be separate from all groups in order <br />to garner trust by being unbiased. <br />B. Adequate funding. Oversight bodies must have enough funding and <br />spending authority to fulfill the duties set forth in the enabling legislation. This <br />includes enough money for adequate staff and money to train that staff. <br />C. Complete and unfettered access. This includes access to all police agency <br />personnel and records, but it also means access to decision makers in both <br />the law enforcement agency and elected officials. <br />D. Ability to influence decision -makers. The ability of oversight to provide input <br />and influence micro -level decisions (i.e., individual use of force or complaint <br />investigations) and macro -level decisions (i.e., policy -related or systemic <br />issues) <br />E. Ample authority. Whatever the model of oversight, it must have enough <br />authority to be able to carry out its mandate and stand up against the <br />inevitable forces and pressures that will the organization and its staff will face. <br />F. Community and stakeholder support. Maintaining community interest and <br />support is important for sustaining an agency through difficult times, <br />especially when cities or governments look to cut services and budgets.3 <br />G. Transparency. Reporting publicly provides transparency and accountability to <br />the community, and typically includes complaint analysis and other <br />observations about the law enforcement organization and its practices. <br />Reporting also increases public confidence in the oversight agency, as much <br />of the work related to complaint investigations may be confidential and <br />protected from public disclosure.4 <br />' http://nacole.org/wp-content/uploads/Oversight-in-the-United-States-Attard-and-Olson-2013.pdf <br />° http://nacole.org/wp-content/uploads/Oversight-in-the-United-States-Attard-and-Olson-2013.pdf <br />38 <br />65D-167 <br />