14 March 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – City leaders are considering a multitude of recommendations for improvement in the Wichita Police Department (WPD) after an independent analysis of the department.
One place for change is the Citizen’s Review Board (CRB). The CRB is designed to hold police accountable, acting as a community voice.
The company Jensen Hughes made seven recommendations for the CRB:
Walt Chappell, a member of the CRB, believes these changes are crucial, and he hopes the recommendations will implement change.
Jensen Hughes commended the CRB for its process in including complaints, but Chappell says that process hasn’t been implemented yet.
“We need to hear from the complainant. We need to read what they wrote and what they were concerned about. Right now, it’s a double standard. We don’t ever hear from the complainant. Very seldom do we know what they’re actually complaining about. We hear the officers. We hear redactions. We don’t even know the officers’ names,” said Chappell.
Another suggestion is to ensure there is no conflict of interest.
“I think Jensen Hughes is concerned that or at least raised an issue that, that maybe there’s not a process in place to evaluate conflicts of interest, but I will tell you that the ordinance that sets our board up has a set of criteria,” said Jay Fowler, Chair of the CRB.
Chappell says City employees being on the board has been an issue in the past. In terms of the power the CRB has in their duty, Chappell says they have no real power, but Fowler says the police department has listened to their recommendations in the past.
“For example, we made a number of specific recommendations to the department of the city as a result of our texting report, and they actually have embraced going forward as,” said Fowler.
As for plans for implementing change, jay fowler says it will be discussed in a meeting at some point.
You can find Jensen Hughes’ full 123-page report below: