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Office of Citizen Complaints flags staffing limits, seeks transcription services and budget increases
Summary
OCC Director Joyce Hicks reported investigator caseloads above best-practice levels, summarized recent adjudications and requested additional budget authority for transcription services, professional experts and technology to process body-camera evidence.
Office of Citizen Complaints Director Joyce Hicks told the Police Commission that the OCC is working under staffing and administrative constraints that limit the office's ability to complete investigations quickly. Hicks said average caseloads per investigator remain above best-practice targets, and that the office must defer some hiring because of budgetary holdbacks.
Hicks summarized chief-proposed discipline actions adjudicated in December and January — including cases involving failure to collect traffic-stop data, an unlawful search, handcuffing that caused injury, and an officer who resigned while a case was pending. She said the OCC mediated 45 cases in 2015 and emphasized the need for additional resources to process body-camera footage and transcribe interviews.
Asked about timelines, Hicks acknowledged that nine months can be a long period for some complainants and said periodic letters notify complainants of case status. She proposed adding transcription services to relieve investigator workload and requested a modest increase in contract-pro services and training funds; she also noted potential additional costs to handle body-camera evidence (an estimated $620,000 in technology-related needs).
The Commission discussed the OCC's hiring challenges and the possibility of seeking Board of Supervisors support to waive standard attrition/step-holdback requirements. Commissioners asked for follow-up briefings on the OCC's Early Intervention System, caseload metrics and the planned use of any new funds.
