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What is Community Control of Police?
Community Control of Police is the idea that police must be held accountable for their actions, and that people should be empowered to hold the police in their communities accountable. This group, People for Police Accountability, is fighting for this idea in Burlington, Vermont. Starting in 2020, we worked with City Councilor Perri Freeman and hundreds of Burlington community members to create a proposal for Community Control of Police in Burlington. Our proposal to create a Community Control Board with disciplinary and investigatory powers is the only proposal that guarantees full independence from the police department and centers BIPOC and other historically marginalized members of our community.
Our goal is to create a new, independent Community Control Board to oversee our local police in Burlington, VT, with both investigatory and disciplinary authority.
Over 150 cities across the country have created independent oversight bodies that vary in the power they have over police departments, and thus their effectiveness in holding police accountable for misconduct and violence perpetrated against citizens. The proposed Burlington model is based off of models in Madison, WI and Chicago IL and is directly informed by the ACLU of Vermont’s criteria for an effective community control of police board. In order to be effective, the community control board and its investigative office must have the following:
Disciplinary power: The ability to hire, fire, and discipline police officers
Investigatory Power: The ability to conduct independent investigations, including the ability to subpoena witnesses and documents, and access to all records of the police department with the agency’s full cooperation
Independence: The ability to function entirely independently of BPD, with independent resources & legal counsel
Representation: The majority of the board should have diverse and representative membership, of affected and historically marginalized groups vulnerable to police misconduct such as BIPOC, and those who have lived experience with homelessness, mental health, substance abuse, and arrest or conviction records. It should exclude membership of those who currently are or who have ever been law enforcement personnel, including family or close affiliations to the BPD
Transparency: Full transparency to the public of which it serves, including oversight of a comprehensive complaint process.
We envision that the proposed Community Control Board will be complimentary to the Police Commission. The Police Commission will focus on policy and protocol recommendations for BPD, while the Community Control Board will be focused on investigation of complaints and discipline.
extensive public input
from the public and is the only resolution that meets the ACLU’s “10-Point Plan to Reimagine Policing in Vermont.”
powered by local grassroots organizations
including the VT Racial Justice Alliance, the Battery Park Movement, Howard Center Workers Union, the Peace and Justice Center, Migrant Justice and Community Voice for Immigrant Rights.
supported by local & national experts
including the ACLU of Vermont
