Chairman Todd Spitzer Calls Special Board of Supervisors Hearing on Public Safety Oversight
(Santa Ana, CA) – Orange County Board of Supervisor, Chairman Todd Spitzer called a Special Board Hearing on adopting a new public safety oversight model. The hearing will allow the Board of Supervisors to receive testimony, hold discussion and analyze various oversight models including the Office of Independent Review.
“Oversight of law enforcement in Orange County is not working,” said Chairman Spitzer. “I found out more about law enforcement incidents from the newspaper than from the Office of Independent Review,” Chairman Todd Spitzer said. “In order to get a model that actually provides oversight, we have to start over.”
A prominent group of distinguished presenters will discuss options with the Board of Supervisors.
Merrick Bobb, Executive Director of the Police Assessment Resource Center (PARC) has agreed to present an overview of the successes that he had in providing oversight and transparency to various law enforcement agencies including those in Los Angeles County.
Additional speakers include:
- Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Sandra Hutchens
- Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the University of California, Irvine’s School of Law
- Tom Dominguez, President of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs (AOCDS)
- Brian Buchner, President of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE)
- Michael Gennaco, Principal at OIR Group
The contract for the current Office of Independent Review (OIR) expires at the end of August. The Board expressed its intention to not renew the contract for the current provider and expressed interest selecting a different model that allows for true oversight and transparency of law enforcement.
The Orange County Office of Independent Review was established by the Board of Supervisors in 2008 to “monitor, assist, oversee and advise” the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Department in its handling of critical incidents and allegations of employee misconduct.
The special hearing will be held on Friday, July 24 from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm in the Board Chambers at 333 W. Santa Ana Blvd. in Santa Ana. The meeting is open to the community and will provide a time for public comments.
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