At the last government study meeting the subject of
discussing a civilian oversight committee was brushed off by a few party loyalists
who don’t feel the need and want the State to address civilian oversight of the
Police departments. Given the latest news about the evidence officer and
missing money and the shear brutality we all witness on TV over the past few
years, I ask, the mostly voyeuristic members of this group, should Framingham
have civilian oversight of the police department? Should residents and visitors
have a way to both complain and complement our police force?
Yes, we should have civilian oversight. Why not? Everyone has to be accountable to someone, and given the history in this town of the few police officers who have had bad behavior being allowed to remain on the force, we can not expect the existing oversight by selectmen or town manager to get any better.
ReplyDeleteI agree, why not? If the community thinks it is a good idea, then why wouldn't we have it?
ReplyDeletedepends on who appoints the oversight committee. there are some people in this town that hate everything and especially everything that has to do with the police. can't have those morons overseeing the cops. you need someone fair, unbiased, and open to both sides of the situation
ReplyDeleteyeah there's the rub... who appoints whom
ReplyDeleteunbiased good listeners are in order.
I can't imagine Rizoli and company being on the committee and certainly not parents or relatives either.
Do we have teacher civilian oversight? Do we have fire civilian oversight? Why do we need police civilian oversight?
ReplyDeleteWe have the school committee. The fire department do not carry guns and have a licencee to kill with immunity. The fire department does not have large sums of money and drugs sitting around in evidence rooms. The fire department didn't kill an innocent black man.
ReplyDeleteIs there a real need for this or are we just adding more layers to a system that does not seem to work very well. Personally, I think we just need new selectmen and a new town manager, and a TM that holds them accountable to what their bosses (that being TM) tell them to do. Ultimately, the selectmen and town manager would have to enforce anything a civilian oversight committee decided, so what makes you think they would listen to a committee when they don't listen to TM?
ReplyDelete