Purpose

• Auditing: Audit FWPD training sessions, body-worn camera footage and use of force reports to ensure practices are reflective of departmental policies, identify patterns and trends, and recommend changes.
• Community Engagement: Conduct regular community engagement activities with the goal of gathering input, listening to community perspectives and identifying solutions for how to best improve police-community relations.
• Data Collection and Analysis: Collect and analyze data related to citizen complaints, uses of force, critical incidents and other types of reviews as well as conduct periodic analysis of data identifying patterns and trends.
• Mediation: Seek to create a restorative justice mediation program to provide an effective alternative dispute resolution process. The program will focus on conflict resolution and aim to improve community perceptions of police and the police-community relationship.
• Monitor Contacts and Complaint Investigations: Monitor FWPD contact and complaint investigations to ensure that investigations are complete and thorough, identify broad patterns in investigations, and recommend policy and procedure changes.
• Oversight and Accountability: Serve as the designated civilian oversight agency empowered to act fairly and impartially, ensuring greater accountability of and public trust in the FWPD.
• Periodic Reporting: Provide periodic public reporting on the Office’s activities related to community engagement, auditing and review of policies and procedures. These public reports will also document the Office’s findings, data analysis and recommendations made to the FWPD and City Manager.
• Review Policies and Procedures: Review policies and procedures to ensure they meet or exceed policing best practices and address emerging trends as identified in our monitoring and auditing of FWPD practices.

• Reviewed more than 800 use of force reports to ensure practices are reflective of departmental policies, identify patterns and trends, and to recommend changes to the FWPD General Orders.

• Attended over fifty professional training classes including: Police Ride-Alongs, Internal Affairs Investigations, Use of Force, Use of Force Analyses and Reporting, Procedural Justice, Implicit/Unconscious Bias, Community Oversight of Law Enforcement, Active Bystandership and internal citywide training.

• Facilitated three summer sessions of Real Talk Virtual Conversations with city staff to discuss how to build stronger community-police relationships.

• Attended periodic meetings involving FWPD Executive Team, Internal Affairs, Patrol Action, and monitors FWPD’s Use of Force Review Board, Critical Police Incident Review Board and the Recruitment Oral Boards.

• Recommended over a dozen changes to FWPD policies and procedures through review and monitoring of FWPD operations, including but not limited to:

  • A formal FWPD documentation process of all complaints.

  • Timely notifications to complainants.

  • Documentation and diligent investigations of all community members’ complaints.

  • Inclusion of timeliness of investigations in monthly case audits.

  • Revision of de-escalation policy to provide more guidance for officers to make decisions and effective interaction with community members.

  • Duty to report added to the duty intervene mandate in the FWPD’s General Orders.

  • Changes to language in Use of Force General Order to consider officers’ duties and responsibilities to community members.

  • Revisions to Body Worn Camera General Order to address supervisory review and ensure greater accountability of officers’ activation and deactivation of their cameras.

  • Revisions to early intervention process.

• Conducted research on promising law enforcement practices regarding matters like use of force reviews, complaint mediation processes, pursuits, early intervention, etc.

• Held seven Mutual Accountability Working group meetings to collaborate and reach consensus on a recommendation to enhance community oversight of Fort Worth law enforcement. Their recommendation was presented to the Mayor and City Council during the work session on September 21, 2021.

• Partnered with the Texas A&M Law Externship to expose students to public policy and legal implications regarding community oversight of law enforcement during the fall semester.

• Hired a Deputy Director, Senior Management Analyst, and Policy Analyst.

In 2021, OPOM will seek to continue and/or commence the following activities:

•  Attend periodic meetings with FWPD’s:

  • Executive Team

  • Internal Affairs

  • Patrol Action

  • Monitor FWPD’s Use of Force Review Board

  • Monitor Critical Police Incident Review Board

  • Monitor Recruitment Oral Boards

• Review and monitor inquiries, complaints, commendations, uses of force and FWPD policies, procedures and practices.

• Recommend changes to ensure equity, based on monitoring and reviews.

• Collect complainant and police data to identify trends, patterns and circumstances in order to address root causes and recommend steps.

• Participate in speaking engagements increasing OPOM awareness, policing reform and bias-free policing. 

• Continue to meet with community and criminal justice stakeholders.

• Continue to track OPOM activities, contacts and engagements.

• Recommend amendments to OPOM's enabling statute and draft OPOM’s Standard Operating Procedures; this includes formalizing our collaboration with FWPD.

• Conduct surveys of community members and FWPD police officers to establish a baseline understanding of police-community relationships in the City of Fort Worth.

• Continue to review and monitor inquiries, complaints, use of force, and FWPD policies and procedures.

• Review FWPD Body Worn Camera audits.

• Serve as a part of FWPD In-House Vacancy Review process. 

• Commence tracking of complainant and police officer data to identify trends, patterns and circumstances in order to address root causes and recommend next steps including problem solving measures.

• Provide periodic updates regarding OPOM's activities to stakeholders.

• Conduct ongoing research of and communications with peer civilian oversight organizations and law enforcement organizations.

• Conduct community collaboration sessions.