65D - POLICE OVERSIGHT - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Police Review Board OIR GROUP OIR Group is a team of police practices experts that has worked with the City of Anaheim to monitor its Police Department since 2007. OIR Group's members are attorneys with extensive experience in the civilian oversight of law enforcement. In jurisdictions throughout California as well as several other states, OIR Group has performed a variety of services related to the independent review of police issues. These have ranged from investigation and evaluation of specific incidents to the broader assessment of an agency's operations. OIR Group's lead members in the City of Anaheim are Michael Gennaco and Stephen J. Connolly. Mr. Gennaco is a former federal prosecutor in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He is a nationally recognized oversight expert and a contributor to President Obama's Task Force on 21" Century Policing. Since 2001, Mr. Connolly has practiced exclusively in the field of law enforcement oversight, and regularly teaches classes to police personnel on issues of risk management, effective supervision, and officer accountability. OIR Group's role in Anaheim began with relatively limited audit functions regarding closed cases. Its responsibilities and influence have evolved over the years as the City has expanded its approach to oversight, and as the Police Department itself has responded to OIR Group recommendations and enhanced its own internal review mechanisms. Anaheim PD's Major Incident Review process, for example, has grown into a model for the holistic administrative assessment of critical incidents. It looks at officer performance and surrounding issues of equipment, supervision, communication, tactics, and decision - making in pursuit of potential insights for the future effectiveness of the agency. OIR Group participates actively in that process — beginning with a "roll -out" response to the scene of officer -involved shootings and other critical events — and has encouraged its development over the years. As oversight professionals, and attorneys who have full access to the Department's investigative case files and records, OIR Group offers an independent assessment of the police response to critical incidents, uses of force, and misconduct investigations. It issues periodic reports that describe its appraisal of individual case files and offer recommendations for systemic improvement. The Police Department has accepted and implemented the overwhelming majority of these recommendations over the years. With the development of the new Police Review Board, OIR Group's main responsibility is now to support the Board's work. It does this by offering an independent perspective, sharing its insights into specific matters that come to the Board's attention, and using its access to police records to help ensure the legitimacy of the Department's internal investigations. Page 4 OIR GROUP 65D-54