0337.00 Police Review Board Personnel Selection

0337.00, Police Review Board Personnel Selection

Refer:
•    City of Portland Code 3.20.140, Police Review Board
•    DIR 0330.00, Internal Affairs, Complaint Intake, and Processing
•    DIR 0336.00, Police Review Board

Definitions:
•    Advisory Member: The Police Review Board (PRB)'s non-voting consultants who serve as subject matter experts in areas of law, policy, training, administration, and equity.  

•    Community Member: For this directive, a person who lives, plays, worships, works, or does business in Portland, recommended by the Independent Police Review (IPR) Director or designee, and confirmed by City Council, who serves on the PRB as a community representative.

•    Facilitator: A neutral, non-voting moderator who manages the PRB hearing and authors a written report reflecting the PRB's Findings and recommendations.

•    Peer Member: A sworn member, appointed by the Chief, who serves on the PRB as a member of the same rank/classification as the involved member.

Policy: 
1.    This directive establishes the selection procedure and confidentiality provisions for Police Review Board (PRB) members and the PRB facilitator, pursuant to Portland City Code 3.20.140, Police Review Board.

Procedure: 
1.    Community Members.
1.1.    Appointment.
1.1.1.    Per City code, the Independent Police Review (IPR) Director or designee recommends Portland community volunteers to City Council to participate as Community Members on the PRB. 
1.1.2.    City Council selects and confirms Community Members to serve in a pool of volunteers who participate in PRB hearings. 
1.1.3.    The Chief may identify candidates for IPR's consideration, but IPR is ultimately responsible for providing a list of qualified candidates to the Chief.  

1.2.    Qualifications.
1.2.1.    Community Members shall:
1.2.1.1.    Pass a background check performed by PPB.  
1.2.1.2.    Participate in Bureau training to become familiar with the PRB process, and police policy and training.
1.2.1.3.    Sign and adhere to a confidentiality agreement. 
1.2.1.4.    Participate in ride-alongs to maintain sufficient knowledge of police patrol procedures.

1.3.    Selection Criteria. 
1.3.1.    City Council selects Community Members recommended by IPR based on: 
1.3.1.1.    Demonstrated ability to make sound and rational decisions under pressure.
1.3.1.2.    Demonstrated ability to review complex investigations.
1.3.1.3.    Absence of any real or perceived bias for or against the police. 
1.3.1.4.    Absence of any real or perceived bias against persons based on race, color, national origin or ethnicity, citizenship or immigrant or refugee status, religion, gender or gender identity or gender expression, age, marital or familial status, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, mental illness, economic status, political ideology or affiliation, veteran status, language, or housing status.
1.3.1.5.    Absence of any real or perceived conflict of interest.
1.3.1.6.    Live, play, worship, work, or do business within the City of Portland.  

1.4.    Term Limits.
1.4.1.    Community Members are appointed for a term of no more than three-years. 
1.4.2.    Community Members may serve two full terms plus the remainder of any unexpired vacancy they may be appointed to fill.

1.5.    Removal from the Board.
1.5.1.    The Chief or IPR may recommend that City Council remove a Community Member from the pool for:
1.5.1.1.    Failure to attend training.
1.5.1.2.    Failure to read Case Files. 
1.5.1.3.    Objective demonstration of disrespectful or unprofessional conduct.
1.5.1.4.    Repeated and excessive unavailability for service when requested.
1.5.1.5.    Breach of confidentiality.
1.5.1.6.    Objective demonstration of bias for or against the police.
1.5.1.7.    Objective demonstration of bias against persons based on the basis of race, color, national origin or ethnicity, citizenship or immigrant or refugee status, religion, gender or gender identity or gender expression, age, marital or familial status, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, mental illness, economic status, political ideology or affiliation, veteran status, language, or housing status. 
1.5.1.8.    Objective demonstration of conflict of interest.  

2.    Peer Members.
2.1.    Appointment.
2.1.1.    The Chief shall appoint Bureau members to serve among a pool of Peer Members for the PRB. Peer Members serve at the discretion of the Chief.
2.1.2.    Representatives of PPB's bargaining units may review Peer Member applications. 
2.1.3.    Assistant Chiefs, the Professional Standards Division (PSD) Commander, and the appropriate Responsibility Unit Manager, shall review Peer Member applications and make appointment recommendations to the Chief.

2.2.    Qualifications. 
2.2.1.    Bureau members are ineligible to serve as PRB Peer Members if they:
2.2.1.1.    Are currently under investigation, until the investigation is closed and any resultant discipline is imposed as a result of a sustained finding.
2.2.1.1.1.    This provision does not apply to investigations of complaints regarding poor quality of service or alleging a rule violation that, if sustained, would not result in corrective action greater than command counseling. 
2.2.1.2.    Received a final sustained finding related to unsatisfactory performance or misconduct, resulting in corrective action less than a 40-hour suspension, within the past year from the date they accept notice of final discipline. Members can reapply after the one year has passed.
2.2.1.3.    Received a final sustained finding related to unsatisfactory performance or misconduct, resulting in corrective action greater than a 40-hour suspension without pay, within the past two years from the date they accept notice of final discipline.  Members can reapply after the two years have passed.

2.3.    Selection Process.
2.3.1.    The Review Board Coordinator shall select a Peer Member from the pool for each PRB.
2.3.2.    The selected Peer Member cannot be related to the involved member and cannot have been involved in or witnessed the incident that is under PRB review.

2.4.    Removal. 
2.4.1.    The Chief may remove a Peer Member from the PRB pool for:
2.4.1.1.    Failure to attend training.
2.4.1.2.    Failure to read Case Files. 
2.4.1.3.    Objective demonstration of disrespectful or unprofessional conduct.
2.4.1.4.    Repeated and excessive unavailability for service when requested.
2.4.1.5.    Breach of confidentiality.
2.4.1.6.    Objective demonstration of bias for or against the police.
2.4.1.7.    Objective demonstration of bias against persons based on the basis of race, color, national origin or ethnicity, citizenship or immigrant or refugee status, religion, gender or gender identity or gender expression, age, marital or familial status, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, mental illness, economic status, political ideology or affiliation, veteran status, language, or housing status. 
2.4.1.8.    Objective demonstration of conflict of interest.
2.4.2.    Peer Members may request to be removed from the PRB pool at any time.

3.    PRB Facilitator.
3.1.    The PRB shall be facilitated by a person who is not a voting member of the PRB.

3.2.    To schedule PRBs expeditiously, the following order for obtaining a facilitator shall be used when scheduling a PRB:
3.2.1.    A person who is not employed by PPB, which may include someone who is an independent contractor or someone who is from another City bureau or office; or
3.2.2.    The Review Board Coordinator.

3.3.    Qualifications of PRB Facilitator who is an independent contractor: 
3.3.1.    To qualify, facilitators must: 
3.3.1.1.    Demonstrate impartiality and no apparent conflict of interest.
3.3.1.2.    Pass a background check performed by PPB.
3.3.1.3.    Participate in Bureau training to become familiar with the PRB process.
3.3.1.4.    Sign a confidentiality agreement.

3.4.    Appointment of PRB Facilitator who is an independent contractor.
3.4.1.    A PRB Facilitator who is  an independent contractor shall not be a board member or employed by PPB and will be selected as follows:   
3.4.1.1.    PPB will prepare a solicitation document in accordance with City procurement rules.  
3.4.1.2.    PPB will provide the IPR Director a draft of the solicitation document for comment.
3.4.1.3.    The selection criteria will include:
3.4.1.3.1.    Experience in the basic skills of following good meeting practices: timekeeping, following an agreed-upon agenda, and keeping a clear record.
3.4.1.3.2.    Experience in managing groups and individuals and group dynamics.  
3.4.1.3.3.    Demonstrated listening skills including the ability to paraphrase and balance participation.  
3.4.1.3.4.    Demonstrated ability to be a neutral party who, by not taking sides or expressing or advocating a point of view during the PRB meeting can manage PRB meetings in accordance with established procedures.   
3.4.1.3.5.    Demonstrated ability to contribute structure and process to interactions so groups are able to function effectively and make high-quality decisions.

3.5.    PPB will screen the responses to the solicitation in accordance with City procurement rules.

Effective:              5/30/2026
Next Review:        5/30/2028