Understanding Real-Time Auditing

When we think about police oversight, we often think about investigations and how they affect our communities. At the Citizens Police Oversight Commission (CPOC), we have a special team called the Auditing and Monitoring Unit. This team helps keep an eye on the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) in real-time to make sure they are doing their job fairly and honestly.

What the Auditing and Monitoring Unit Does

The Auditing and Monitoring Unit is very important to CPOC's mission. In July 2024, they started doing real-time audits of police misconduct investigations that the Internal Affairs Division (IAD) has finished. This means they look at complaint investigations while they are still happening. The team checks if these investigations are good, complete, and fair. This helps CPOC give quick feedback to improve the PPD investigations. CPOC uses the same questions to review every case to keep things fair.

How the Program Works

The Auditing and Monitoring Unit has a set time to finish their reviews. They have 10 business days to look over the cases and share their feedback with the PPD. If CPOC has suggestions, they send them back to IAD to help improve the investigation.

They check everything carefully, including documents, interviews, and body camera videos. This careful work is important to make sure everyone is held accountable and treated fairly.

By the Numbers

From July 2024 through September 2024, the Auditing and Monitoring Unit finished 85 audits. Here are some important facts from that time:

• Total Reviews: 85
• Cases with Feedback: 59
• Individual Recommendations: 155
• Cases Not Completed in Time: 15 out of 85 investigations weren't finished by the 90-day deadline, but there were often good reasons for the delays.
• Body Camera Footage: 37 out of 85 cases did not have body camera footage. In the 48 cases that did have body camera footage, 37 accurately summarized the footage, while 11 cases did not.
• Allegations Addressed: 52% of cases did not cover all of the allegations or violations present in the encounter. CPOC sent feedback to have all allegations addressed.

For more information, you can check the October Public Meeting Report.

The Goal: Transparency and Improvement

CPOC wants to be open with the community. Sharing what we find is important for building trust and keeping the public informed about how we check on the police. The Auditing and Monitoring Unit will keep sharing data during public meetings so the community can stay involved.

As we learn from the data, CPOC hopes to give helpful suggestions to IAD, which can lead to better police practices. By being open and working with the community, CPOC is not just auditing the police but also helping to make policing better for everyone.

Conclusion

The work of the CPOC's Auditing and Monitoring Unit shows a strong way to monitor the police. By doing real-time audits and sharing what they find, we are setting a good example for accountability and honesty in law enforcement. Keeping an open conversation with the community helps build trust between the police and the people of Philadelphia.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.