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Council lays out candidate profile for Director of Police Accountability: independence, investigative expertise and tech fluency
Summary
As a national search proceeds, council members prioritized candidates with experience in civilian oversight, strong investigative and management skills, technology and surveillance knowledge, public communication ability, and a capacity to finalize PAB/ODPA regulations and build investigative capacity; recruiter WBCP outlined interview timeline.
Berkeley’s City Council and its recruitment consultant discussed the candidate profile for the next Director of Police Accountability (ODPA) on June 9, laying out operational priorities and desired competencies for a national search.
Recruiter Lauren (WBCP Inc.) told council the search is active (44 applicants as of the meeting) and outlined next steps: subcommittee virtual interviews for top candidates July 17 and full‑council finalist interviews in closed session at the end of July. Councilmembers and the recruiter emphasized clear priorities for the first 12–18 months: finalize PAB/ODPA regulations, build investigative capacity to handle complaints and triage caseload, and establish consistent public reporting and outreach.
Skills councilmembers prioritized included demonstrated civilian‑oversight experience, investigative competence, familiarity with records and surveillance‑technology law, program and budget management, political navigation, and strong public communications and cultural competency. Councilmember Blackaby stressed the need to finish implementing regulations that currently slow board operations; others emphasized the ability to work across the city organization while maintaining the office’s independence.
Next steps: Recruiter will continue outreach; application window remains open through June 24. Virtual initial interviews are scheduled for July 17; finalists will be forwarded for closed‑session interviews with the full council.
