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1 RESOLUTION NO. 9, 9 8 5
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3 A RESOLUTION TO FORMALIZE THE INTENT OF THE BOARD OF
4 DIRECTORS TO CONTINUE TO EXAMINE POLICE AND COMMUNITY
5 RELATIONS AND TO CREATE A POLICE STUDY COMITTEE FOR THAT
6 PURPOSE.
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8 WHEREAS, the Little Rock Board of Directors has participated in a series of public
9 hearings about the relationship between the Little Rock Police Department and the citizens within
10 the City; and
11 WHEREAS, the Board of Directors understands and appreciates the excellent job of law
12 enforcement and protection provided by the Department, but also understands and appreciates that
13 there is a lack of understanding within the community about these positive aspects of the
14 Department; and
15 WHEREAS, a measure of the quality of life within the City is the absence of conflict, real
16 or imagined, between the Department and the law abiding citizens of the City; and
17 WHEREAS, without a systematic method for the elected officials to address questions and
18 issues raised by the community it will be difficult, if not impossible, to set a positive tone to the
19 policy decisions that impact the community and the Department; and
20 WHEREAS, the appropriate body to fulfill this function is the Board of Directors meeting
21 regularly with a focused agenda on the questions of law enforcement within the City.
22 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
23 THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS:
24 SECTION 1: The Board of Directors of the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, shall sit as a
25 Committee of the Whole to study police accountability once every other month beginning in June,
26 1997, until June, 1998.
27 SECTION 2: The Mayor shall serve as the Chair of this Committee. All members of the
28 Board of Directors shall be permitted to participate and, on any matters necessitating a vote to show
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1 the sense of the Committee, all members including the Mayor shall have one vote. The Mayor shall
2 not have a veto.
3 SECTION 3: The City Manager, City Attorney, Chief of Police, shall be required to attend,
4 and the Chief of Police or other police department personnel with knowledge of or responsibility for 226
5 the procedures or activities that are the topic of discussion should be requested by the Chief to attend
6 these meetings to assure that the Board has access to all necessary and reliable information.
7 SECTION 4: These meetings shall occur after the first agenda meeting. On the dates these
8 meetings are scheduled, the agenda meeting shall be limited in time to one -half hour, and the meetings
9 of this committee shall be limited in time to one and one -half hours. The agenda for these committee
10 meetings shall be established in advance by the Mayor, with input from the Board of Directors, and
11 all necessary materials shall be available to the Board members one week in advance.
12 SECTION 5: The purpose of the Committee is to study and recommend policies that
13 promote an improved relationship between citizens and the Department. The Committee shall focus
14 on police practices, policies and procedures, but shall in no manner make any recommendations on
15 specific personnel matters. The tasks shall include:
16 (A) Monitoring of statistical trends of department contact with citizens which may
17 include a review of the location and nature of police and citizen interactions, trends concerning the
18 use of force or the use of deadly force; or the discharge of weapons including those made in the line
19 of duty and those that constitute accidental discharges; a study of the distribution and use of human
20 resources and, other possible methods to better facilitate resolution of citizen complaints.
21 (B) A review of the personnel needs of the department including an employment
22 profile by rank and job assignment and annual trends in employment, an accounting of disciplinary
23 actions that are ordered by the Chief of Police, a study of police training requirements.
24 (C) A review of the effectiveness of law enforcement methods of the Department.
25 the cost effectiveness of this delivery of services, a study of the relationship between service methods
26 and desired outcomes.
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SECTION 6: The Board, when sitting as a Committee, may permit public input to provide
information on the topics studied by the Committee. The meetings of this Committee, however, are
not a continuing public venue or debate for the purpose of providing another avenue for the airing
of individual grievances, real or perceived, against the Department. The Committee exists solely
to explore and discuss possible changes that might be implemented to improve police community
relations. To that end, the Committee may request the services of experts in various areas to
provide information that can lead to the development of policies that result in improved law
enforcement or improved relationships between the Department and the citizens.
SECTION 7: At the conclusion of one year, the Committee shall publish a written report
that sets forth the information obtained during this study and any proposed recommendations for
change.
ADOPTED: May 6, 1997
ATTEST:
ROBBIE HANCOCK
CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
THOMAS M. CARPENTElk
CITY ATTORNEY
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APPROVED:
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