A recent proposal to the Citizens Police Review Board in Columbia, Missouri, asked for certified mediation services that would be implemented to the local police department.  Some board members have already been invested in such a project for several years, working to allow mediation as a means of alternative dispute resolution.  The ordinance makes the official call for the services, and the city has already announced that they have the money in place to make it a reality.  Last Monday, the review board approved the request for proposal language to be sent forth to the purchasing process.  The goal is to start collecting bids as early as the beginning of next year.

Once the role of mediator has been established, that individual will not report to anyone, stated a board member, the mediator will instead attend a meeting with the individual who filed the complaint as well as the police department.  After such a meeting, the mediator will make a statement about whether an agreement was reached between the two parties.  Only certified mediators will be considered, and this is an effort to ensure that a professional individual has been selected for the position.  Certified mediators are required to log a certain number of hours in order to become certified.

In the same meeting, the board updated the language for multiple sections that would include a more comprehensive review of the police department.  The department is required each month to submit a report that includes the total number of complaints received, the number of filings that were determined not to be legitimate complaints, the finding of any complaints, and the status of existing complaints.  If those complaints have been developed into investigations, the Police Department will also be responsible for sharing the details of those ongoing investigations.  It’s hoped that the new mediation program will allow for a thorough review of the issues and a better process for those submitting complaints.