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Oversight office reports falling caseloads and four adjudications by chief in April
Summary
The Office of Citizen Complaints reported it opened 55 cases in April, closed 76 and had 344 pending cases as of April 30; the chief adjudicated four sustained neglect-of-duty complaints during April.
The Office of Citizen Complaints (OCC) told the Police Commission that OCC investigators opened 55 cases in April 2012 (down from 72 in April 2011) and closed 76 cases during the month. Director Hicks reported the OCC had 344 pending cases as of April 30 and 340 pending cases "as of today," indicating a decline from 416 pending cases in May of the prior year. The OCC has mediated four cases in April and seven so far in May.
Director Hicks said the chief adjudicated four sustained cases from April 1–30: two cases involved failure to document traffic stop data (resulting in admonishments), one resulted in a written reprimand for failing to broadcast ending mileage for a transported female passenger, and one involved violation of DGO 7.01 concerning juvenile transports (admonishment). "The chief adjudicated four cases in April," Director Hicks told the commission.
Commissioners asked about best practices for investigator caseloads; Director Hicks cited a 2007 controller audit that recommended 16 cases per investigator as a benchmark. The OCC director also noted interview scheduling constraints tied to department practices and union contracts that limit overtime for OCC staff.
The OCC director said a more detailed first-quarter report would be presented at a subsequent meeting and that the commission would have an opportunity to review charts and adjudication details covering January through March.
