Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell

Media Advisory issued by Office of Professional Accountability Review Board

Focus on collaborative process for
improving police-community relations

SEATTLE – Seattle’s Office of Professional Accountability Review Board (OPARB) asks the public to an open discussion exploring a community collaborative process to help ease tensions between the Seattle Police Department and Seattle’s varied communities, particularly communities of color.

Set against the backdrop of the recent Department of Justice findings, experienced facilitator, Jay Rothman, will present a report and recommendations about ways to empower the community, open constructive lines of communication and implement a concrete plan using such a process in Seattle. Links to the report and other information about the collaborative process are below.

WHAT: OPARB community meeting

WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 7 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: Seattle University’s Campion Ballroom at Campion Hall
Seattle University
914 E. Jefferson St.
Seattle, WA, 98122

WHO: OPARB members
Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell (Chair, Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee)
Jay Rothman, facilitator

MORE INFORMATION:
• The Seattle Collaborative Process for Improving Police-Community Relations
        1. Briefing – Phase 1 Report
        2. Phase 1 Report
• Description of the ARIA process
• The NY Times article describing the early days of the process in Cincinnati
• What others say about ARIA

Call us at 206-684-8146 or email us @ nancy.roberts@seattle.gov with any questions before the event.

About OPARB: The Office of Professional Accountability Review Board is a seven-member civilian body that reviews the City of Seattle’s policies related to police accountability. Working in concert with the civilian Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) Director and the civilian OPA Auditor, the Review Board plays an important role in Seattle’s police accountability system through its assessment of policies and practices and recommendations for improvement. To inform its conclusions, the OPA Review Board reviews the handling process for police accountability complaints; organizes outreach to receive community feedback; and, researches national trends and best practices in police accountability and civilian law enforcement oversight. It delivers its findings and recommendations to the City Council twice a year.