The City of Alexandria in Virginia is looking for members to serve on a civilian police review board, and those who are interested have until next week to apply.
The Independent Community Policing Review Board was established in July after the council unanimously adopted a measure, “which condemned police brutality and systemic racism; reaffirmed that Black Lives Matter; and stated Council’s intent to establish a community policing review board in our City,” according to the city website.
Eight board members will come from diverse backgrounds to serve for specific timeframes, as noted by the city website:
- Initially serving an 18-month term: Three members from historically racially or socially marginalized communities who have commonly experienced disparate policing, either in Alexandria or in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- Serving a three-year term: One member who represents an organization, office or agency that either seeks racial or social justice or that otherwise advocates on behalf of historically, racially, or socially marginalized communities — particularly communities that may have experienced bias in policing.
- Serving three-year terms: Three at-large members.
- Serving a three-year term: One nonvoting board member, with past experiences in law enforcement, who will serve a three-year term. This member shall not have been previously employed as a law enforcement officer within the City of Alexandria; shall not be a current employee of or an immediate family member of a current employee of a law enforcement agency and shall be at least three years honorably removed from service.
The board will be able to receive complaints about the Alexandria Police Department from the community, review the police department’s investigations of incidents and complaints and conduct its own independent investigations of incidents and more serious complaints.
The deadline to submit an application is 5 p.m. on Nov. 12. The city council will also appoint an independent policing auditor-investigator to staff the board.
You can apply online at the City of Alexandria’s Board & Commissions website. Look for “Independent Community Policing Review Board.”
