Saratoga Springs Civilian Review Board reviews revised complaint procedures, holds executive session on personnel complaints

The Saratoga Springs Civilian Review Board on Sept. 17 reviewed proposed revisions to its complaint-handling procedures that make the Saratoga Springs Police Department the formal point of entry for complaints and add a checkbox allowing complainants to request later review by the board. The board also moved into executive session to discuss personnel-complaint examples; no case details were disclosed.

The proposed revisions, presented by Assistant Chief Frederick Warfield and Lieutenant Angela McGovern of the Saratoga Springs Police Department, redraw sections 4 and 5 of the board's procedures to eliminate what presenters described as “parallel” complaint paths. Under the draft, every complaint would be submitted to the police department first; if a complainant checks a box on the complaint form, the department will forward the completed investigation to the board for review after the police process is finished.

The draft includes a timeline requiring the board, upon receipt of a forwarded complaint, to make “diligent effort” to contact the complainant within two weeks to ask whether the complaint has been resolved. The document also adds an explicit provision that the board may, “in a proper case,” offer mediation between the complainant and department personnel.…