Commission on Police Practices

Type

Commission

Creating Authority

The Community Review Board on Police Practices was retitled to the Commission on Police Practices on 10-20-2022 by Ordinance-21557 and took effect November 19, 2022. City Charter section 41.2 took effect on December 18, 2020.

Charter section 41.2 provides that the Commission will be composed of members of the Community Review Board on Police Practices serving at the time the section takes effect (interim Commission), until the Council has formally appointed members to the Commission in accordance with the ordinance described in this section.

Total Vacancies

3

Expiring Soon

0

Appointment Process

The City Council must appoint the members of the Commission. The City Council may remove members of the Commission for cause by a vote of a majority of the members of the City Council. The San Diego Municipal Code Section §26.1105 provides further information on the appointment of commission members.

The Commission is an investigatory body of the City, independent of the Mayor and the Police Department, and the Commission must act in conformance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

On November 3, 2020, City voters approved Measure B to establish the Commission on Police Practices (Commission), which supersedes the City’s Community Review Board on Police Practices (CRB). The City Charter amendments set forth in Measure B took effect on December 18, 2020, when the Measure was chaptered by the California Secretary of State. The implementation ordinance for the Commission on Police Practices took effect November 19, 2022 under San Diego Municipal Code Chapter 2 Article 6 Division 11.

San Diego Municipal Code §26.1101 states that the Commission’s purpose is:

(1) to provide independent community oversight of the Police Department, directed at increasing community trust in the Police Department and increasing safety for both members of the community and police officers; (2) to perform independent investigations of police officer-involved shootings, in-custody deaths, and other significant incidents involving the Police Department, and independent evaluations of complaints against the Police Department and its personnel, in a process that is transparent and accountable to the community; and (3) to evaluate and review Police Department policies, practices, training, and protocols, and represent the community in making. recommendations for changes. The Commission has investigatory, review, and auditing powers, including the power to make factual determinations about matters that are investigated and to make advisory recommendations regarding the actions of police officers and the procedures, policies, and practices of the Police Department. The Commission has certain mandatory duties and discretionary powers, as described in section 41.2.

Composed of (25) members. The members are appointed by Council in accordance with the approved Council rules and policies. The composition of the commission must be in accordance the Commission Composition and Member Qualifications listed in §26.1103 of the San Diego Municipal Code.