Community Forum on Accountability of UC-Berkeley Cops

COMMUNITY FORUM TO ADDRESS CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF UC CAMPUS POLICE

We have been advocating for reform of the Police Review Board on the UC Berkeley campus for some time. We are hosting this community forum on Wednesday, May 8 at 7pm at the Pauley Ballroom on campus along with the Student's Advocates Office. This is our opportunity to express the problems that we have been experiencing with the UC cops. Remember that UC cops have jurisdiction over all of Berkeley, with no meaningful oversight. Come tell us your experiences with the UC cops. It is important for community residents to speak up.

With increased student protest on campus and citizen complaints against UC officers on the rise, the issue of police accountability on campus has surfaced once again. Controversial policies such as the use of the carotid artery chokehold on student protesters and recent incidents involving physical abuse of Berkeley residents have prompted students and community residents to put out the call for this community forum.

The history of the effort to establish independent civilian review dates back over thirty years. In recent times, while the campus administration claims that it has implemented a campus police review board (UCPRB), students and community members believe that the PRB exists on paper only.

"It has no office, no telephone and no budget. In fact, it doesn't even have a chairperson, and it doesn't hold meetings. We need a genuine accountability agency on campus to deal with allegations of police misconduct. We need some commitment from the administration to really make it happen this time," said UC student Karin Hilton and member of Copwatch.

Invited speakers include the UC Vice-Chancellor, UC Police Chief Victoria Harrison, representatives from the Student Advocate's Office, Copwatch and former Berkeley Police Review Commissioner Osha Neumann. Presentations will be followed by an open forum where other groups, individuals and victims of UC police misconduct will offer their ideas for change.

May 8, 2002 at 7pm
Pauley Ballroom
ASUC Building on the UC Berkeley campus

Sponsored by:
The UC Student Advocates Office at (510) 642-6912
and COPWATCH at (510) 548-0425