Councilman Charles Winburn introduced a motion during a law committee meeting Monday involving a nine-point plan toward improving police-community relations at the street level.
One of the points involves eliminating or fully funding the Office of Contract Compliance and Investigation (OCCI). Mr. Winburn said OCCI should not be bogged down and intermingling investigations such as "use of force" with less timely and less serious matters. "It is definitely failing," Mr. Winburn said of OCCI. "It is not doing what it was intended to do."
Mr. Winburn said combining contract compliance and investigations "has helped to undermine" OCCI's job. "Something is wrong with that picture."
Other points of the plan call for buying Tasers for all police squad cars, an expense of less than $100,000, he said. Maintenance would cost less than $20,000, Mr. Winburn said.
Other points include:
- Exploring the idea of expanding the conflict resolution program into all Cincinnati Police districts. The program is now being used in only one district.
- Return contract compliance back to the Office of Purchasing.
- Reorganize the D.A.R.E Unit so that it can spend more time working with citizens at the street level.
- Change patrol officer priorities from ticket quotas to encourage more positive contact with citizens.
- Upgrade the police academy training program as it specifically relates to the use of deadly force.
- Explore radically adjusting the specialized Community Oriented Policing teams by putting more officers on the street to enhance police-community relations.
"Officer discretion needs to be reviewed in order to avoid more incidents like the parking meter granny and the blind individual receiving a jaywalking ticket," Mr. Winburn said, referring to two recent Cincinnati cases.
"This will avoid further embarrassment and negative community sentiment as these issues are resolved after the fact. Instead of worrying about ticket quotas, officers should be allowed to use reasonable discretion."
Today's coverage
Police- racial issues 'can be worked out' STORY
City hasn't made use of its own expert STORY
Investigative office 'definitely failing,' Winburn says STORY
Improvements in police oversight STORY
Proposed improvements STORY
Sunday's coverage 
