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OPCR says staffing near full, intake timelines generally within target as backlog persists
Summary
At the Dec. 15 meeting of the Community Commission on Police Oversight, OPCR Associate Director Russell Fujisawa reported new hires that should bring the office to full staffing by Jan. 12, intake averages of about 21 days last month, and a remaining backlog of roughly 100 noncompliant investigations that staff additions aim to reduce.
The Community Commission on Police Oversight heard a monthly update Dec. 15 from the Office of Police Conduct Review that described recent staffing gains and persistent investigative backlogs.
Russell Fujisawa, OPCR associate director, told commissioners the office added a case investigator on Dec. 1 and expects another staffer to complete onboarding Jan. 12, which he said will make OPCR “fully staffed” for the first time in many years. Fujisawa said the staffing additions should help the office reduce a backlog of cases currently marked out of compliance.
Fujisawa presented intake and administrative‑investigation metrics: intake-case dispositions average 20–22 days (21 days in the most recent month), while the average length of a case in the intake queue is about 75 days. He said the number of complaints currently out of compliance on the administrative side continues to hover around 100 and that complaint volume is the largest barrier to faster processing.
“Under the settlement agreement and the provisions of the consent decree, [we’re] working toward compliance with those timelines,” Fujisawa said, noting both progress and remaining challenges in moving older cases to resolution.
Commissioners asked about terms and public access to data. Chair Latanya Reeves asked for clarification of an acronym on a slide; Fujisawa said HRIU stands for human resources investigative units. Commissioner Stewart asked whether the complaint‑category slide would be available to the public; Fujisawa said the slide was published with meeting materials but cautioned that categories reflect the face value of complaints before investigation and that data release must respect Minnesota Government Data Practices Act rules.
The report also described changes to review‑panel operations and case assignment cadence: OPCR has reduced its compliant bucket size by assigning older cases for resolution while aiming to keep incoming cases within intake timelines. Fujisawa credited recent standard‑operating‑procedure approvals, new training and review‑panel scheduling changes for improved throughput.
The clerk was asked to receive and file the report so that the commission’s record reflects the update and the office’s plan for continued data reporting.
Next steps: commissioners requested clearer public presentation of complaint trends that preserves privacy constraints; OPCR said it would iterate on presentation formats to convey how allegations change from intake to final routing and disposition.
