Since spring 2021, the Community Formation Commission (CFC), in partnership with NACOLE, has worked to draft a proposal that would establish the city’s first independent civilian oversight board for the Santa Barbara Police Department (SBPD). Despite local Black femme organizers making demands for institutionalized accountability and transparency for nearly four years, a commission wasn't established until worldwide reckonings of anti-blackness and state sanctioned violence in summer 2020.
For the last year, the group has dedicated their expertise to researching and developing model recommendations for a Civilian Oversight Board, marking a significant shift in our city’s lacking transparency practices. As is standard in most U.S. cities, the SBPD’s investigations into police misconduct are directed by an internal administrative investigation unit, a model that promises secrecy, resulting in a lack of justice for our community and an alarming failure to discipline officers who violate the very laws they are asked to enforce.
In order to achieve a civilian oversight board that is both effective and sustainable, we need the draft to reflect the specific needs and concerns of our community. For this reason, your feedback is vital. Following the completion of the first draft, we are now calling on folks to fill out this survey by March 22 at 11:59 p.m., before the CFC presents their draft recommendations to the City Council. It is our hope that through the establishment of a Civilian Oversight Board, we are able to grow a community space for healing, protection, and justice.