Response to the Report of the
2003-2004 UT Police Department Oversight Committee
November 29, 2004
2003-2004 Police Oversight Committee
Professor M. Michael Sharlot, Chair
Mr. Kyle J. Cavanaugh
Dr. Patricia L. Clubb
Mr. Verick W. Cornett
Mr. Luther W. Johnson
Ms. Katie A. King
Ms. Linda H. Millstone
Ms. Peggy N. Mueller
Professor Edward W. Odell
Professor Alba Ortiz
Mr. Gus Perez
Ms. Julie Ewald, Committee Staff
Dear Colleagues:
Although I am very late in doing so, I wish to acknowledge your report of June 17 and thank you for your service to the University as a member of the 2003-2004 Police Oversight Committee. The last several months have been ones of great challenge in the Office of the President, and many items have not received timely attention. Acknowledgement of your work and your report is among them. I apologize.
Despite my regret over our shortcomings of process, I hasten to add that I am deeply grateful for your work. You had the challenge of creating an effective oversight mechanism where none existed before, and you met that challenge extremely well. We did succeed in bringing the most important constituencies and the most important current issues to your table, and you were able to engage them in a manner that broadened understanding and improved communication significantly.
A part of your success was the decision by Chief Van Slyke to remove himself from formal membership on the Committee and to engage instead only in an advisory capacity. It became clear, after the experience of the early months, that this action would create a more functional structure. Not many chiefs would have recognized the value of such a step on their own and not many would have taken it voluntarily. I commend the Chief for his decision.
Your report is quite well developed and is definitive about remaining tasks. I am especially pleased that such an explicit report received unanimous support from your committee. This report will, of course, be the starting point for the 2004-2005 Police Oversight Committee, which is now being constituted and will be led by Professor Shelley Payne.
Let me turn now to your recommendations. While I will not address each in this letter, I do want to discuss them briefly according to the topics under which you grouped them. In general, I accept your report with enthusiasm, and I commend it especially to Vice President Clubb, Mr. Cavanaugh, Chief Van Slyke, and Professor Payne for action according to their understanding of individual provisions relevant to them. Now let me comment on some specifics:
A. Demographics: Your recommendation falls under the responsibility of Vice President Clubb, Mr. Cavanaugh, and Chief Van Slyke. I ask that they take it up.
B. Recruitment: All of your recommendations fall under the responsibility of Vice President Clubb, Mr. Cavanaugh, and Chief Van Slyke. I ask that they take them up.
C. Training: Your general recommendation is that this area become the major focus of the new Police Oversight Committee, and I fully accept that idea. I believe that oversight over training should be a general, continuing concern of this committee. Accordingly, I ask that Professor Payne act upon the ideas in this section of your report.
D. Supervision: Processing Complaints: Most of your suggestions in this area are dependent upon a detailed legal determination of permissible practices. Accordingly, I ask Vice President Clubb and Mr. Cavanaugh to follow up your recommendations with Vice President Ohlendorf, members of her legal affairs staff, and members of the Office of General Counsel, to explore the range of beneficial changes in practice that might be realizable. After this review is completed, Vice President Clubb should report back to the new Police Oversight Committee.
E. Community Policing: Your recommendations in this area divide with respect to responsibility for follow up. The detailed operational recommendations fall under Chief Van Slyke's purview, and I commend them to him. The financial questions concerning continuation of support for community policing will have to be resolved ultimately within the University's process of budgeting, wherein decisions concerning the relative merits of very different applications of resources must be discussed and resolved. Therefore, I ask that Professor Payne place before the new Police Oversight Committee the general question of priority among police-related issues and that she forward an interim report through Vice President Clubb to the University Budget Council. This should be done by mid-February, if possible.
F. Racial Profiling: This is an area of high sensitivity and continuing importance. It is evident that your recommendations are mainly made to the new Police Oversight Committee, so I commend them all to Professor Payne.
G. Policing Celebratory Rioting or Post-Game Violence: This is a sphere of growing concern nationwide. It would be appropriate for the new Police Oversight Committee to undertake a study of it, if time is available.
You should be proud of the contributions that you made together to the overall health of our community. On behalf of all of the rest of us, I express gratitude.
Sincerely,
Larry R. Faulkner
President
Click Here for a printer friendly version.
Click Here to view the Report of the 2003-2004 UT Police Department Oversight Committee
