I came across this Facebook post by Steve Dear, on the first Carrboro, NC Community Forum On Policing, back in October 2014. Since then, we have held a second such Forum.

Those were early days. After discussion, thinking and posting on the subject, my views have moved from advocating what I now see as a somewhat reactive Civilian Review Board to the more proactive Citizen Design of Policing.

What’s the difference? Conventional Review Boards pretty much, well, ‘review’ – after the event. As such, they are always one step behind. The concept of Citizen Design is that citizens, elected officials, along with police (but not police on their own), design policing policy before boot hits street. And then monitor to ensure police compliance. You can find more detail here.