Monday, November 10, 2025
The City of Olympia’s Community Livability and Public Safety Committee is moving forward with a recruitment process for the newly established Community Policing Board.
The committe plans to interview seven candidates on Wednesday, Aug. 27.
The Community Policing Board is a citizen advisory committee established by the City of Olympia with the goal of enhancing transparency, oversight and public engagement with law enforcement.
The creation of the board follows the city council’s July 2024 approval of recommendations from the Social Justice and Equity Commission to increase community involvement in law enforcement.
On March 4, the city council approved updates to the Olympia Municipal Code section governing the Community Member Representatives for Police Use of Force and establishing the Community Policing Board.
In May, the city launched a recruitment process to fill three positions on the new board, in addition to the four representatives from the Community Police Use of Force Board, which is transitioning to the Community Policing Board.
The city received 25 applications from community members. Seven finalists have been selected for interviews.
The Community Policing Board will collaborate closely with the Civilian Police Auditor, meeting quarterly to review audit findings, support police reviews and contribute to shaping the auditor’s annual work plan.
Board members would also assist in developing outreach and educational programs to promote public understanding of Olympia’s police oversight system and gather input on community priorities related to public safety.
When needed, board members may serve as community representatives on the Olympia Police Department’s Internal Use of Force Review Board or the Capitol Metro Independent Investigations Team to investigate officer-involved critical incidents.
These roles can require a substantial time commitment, typically between 10 and 50 hours over a three- to four-month period, and involve careful review of complex case materials. City records show community members have participated in five such investigations.
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BettyVerdammt
Can the city stop their assistant city manager from jumping into bed with the police chief? Because if oversight turns into pillow talk, policing the police is going to sound more like couples' therapy.
Friday, August 22 Report this
ViaLocal
@BettyVerdammt What?
Monday, August 25 Report this