Policing Project Fellow Julian Clark was a featured panelist at the 2020 National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) Academic Symposium, hosted by the University of Texas at Austin School of Law and Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs in early March.

The event titled, “New Frontiers in Independent Oversight of Jails, Prisons, and Police,” brought together academics, practitioners, policy makers, policing and correction experts and advocates to discuss studies of and recent developments in law enforcement accountability and oversight.

Clark appeared on the symposium’s fourth panel of the day—“Policing the Police”—where he presented the Policing Project’s forthcoming report, Community Advisory Boards: Lessons from a National Study.

The report is a result of a nationwide qualitative study of community advisory boards (CABs)—small volunteer groups that collaborate with police agency leadership to improve police-community relations, develop policies and practices, and identify community needs.

The Policing Project became interested in CABs because, as a form of community engagement that occurs on the “front end,” CABs have the potential to increase democratic participation in policing in a meaningful way. Yet, despite their potential and growing popularity, there was little research on CABs or their overall effectiveness in meaningful oversight or community engagement.

During his presentation, Clark explained the history of CABs and the impetus behind our study. He also previewed some of the major findings of our study, including that, in practice, many CABs suffer from a number of deficiencies that often inhibit their ability to achieve their intended purpose. The presentation concluded with a series of recommendations for police departments to help CABs attain their goals.

The full study Community Advisory Boards: Lessons from a National Study will be published later this spring on our website as a part of Beyond the Conversation project that will offer tools and strategies for crafting more meaning community engagement.