The Chapel Hill Police Department’s citizen complaint process was the topic of a recent article in The Daily Tar Heel. I’d like to add some history and context to that story. Our goal is to be responsive to community concerns in order to better protect the rights of citizens.
To encourage public input about our policing services, we provide a safe and neutral process that assists citizens when they wish to provide feedback, including complaints. We treat each complaint as a valuable opportunity to communicate and improve service.
Two years ago, we created a new, transparent process for receiving complaints, and these changes have resulted in higher numbers of complaints than in previous years. Although complaints and criticism can be difficult to receive, we entered this new process with our ears and eyes open. During the last two years, we changed and markedly improved the process by which citizen concerns are reported and reviewed. Our new system better solicits, records and reports outcomes of all complaints.
New computer software helps our police supervisors monitor activities related to the use of force and vehicle accidents, as well as complaints received about their employees.
Anyone who files a complaint is treated respectfully and allegations against police officers are taken seriously. Citizens who believe they have been mistreated or have not received adequate service have a moral and legal right to express dissatisfaction.
I am proud of our commitment to carefully investigate and clearly report and share all complaints relating to police service. We strive to be courteous, thorough and impartial in our investigations and fair in our judgments.
We at the Chapel Hill Police Department are dedicated to protecting the rights of all citizens and enhancing the community’s quality of life through the delivery of the highest level of service and principled enforcement of the law. We are proud to be the guardians of the Hill: serving, protecting and partnering.
