Why Philadelphians Don't Trust the Police Misconduct Complaint Process
In 2021, the city established the Citizens Police Oversight Commission (CPOC), which replaced the Police Advisory Commission (PAC). CPOC is an independent watchdog group, made of community advocates, business leaders, and legal experts that monitor and investigate Philly’s police department and recommend ways to improve conduct, practices, and policies. Have things improved under their oversight in 2023? Only slightly.
In 2021, Philadelphia established the Citizens Police Oversight Commission (CPOC), an independent watchdog group aimed at improving police conduct and police-community relations.
But even with this new oversight, citizen complaints regarding police misconduct still languish, taking over a year (409 days) to actually be heard, according to a new CPOC report. Back in 2017, the average wait time for processing was even longer, at 463 days.
What’s the Impact?
The new report also surveyed more than 2,000 Philadelphians, and concluded that long wait times discourage more residents from filing complaints. S/O to PhillyVoice for highlighting the results.
The numbers spoke volumes, and participants made it clear that if they know an evaluation and penalty process will take more than a year, they are more likely to skip out.
Around 4.5% of respondents said they had experienced an encounter with an officer that would qualify as misconduct. Of that number, nearly three out of four said they did not plan on doing anything about it.
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