Oak Park’s Citizen Police Oversight Committee submitted its semi-annual report to the village board of trustees ahead of a May 20 board meeting. Notably the committee report said it wants police department data to prove the effectiveness of Flock Automated License Plate Readers, a camera system used by police.
The report revealed that the board only weighed in on two citizen complaints during the second half of 2024. The report also presented recommendations on how the committee would like to be informed of the police department’s use of license plate reading cameras in their investigations.
The committee last submitted a report to the board last November.
The committee reviews police investigations of citizen complaints, with the department’s investigations usually being led by either a commander or by the department’s internal affairs team. The committee can either vote to agree or disagree with the police investigation and action taken, but the committee’s vote is not binding. Police Chief Shatonya Johnson would have to choose to act on the ruling.
Of the two cases CPOC reviewed, the committee sustained one complaint and did not sustain the other, both rulings in line with Oak Park police’s internal investigation.
“The internal investigation findings were upheld by the Citizen Police Oversight Committee unanimously for both complaints,” the report said of the decisions.
The complaint the body sustained was related to the department’s rule about “courtesy to the general public,” and the committee recommended that the officer undergo “coaching, counseling and de-escalation training,” according to the report.
CPOC’s report also provided perspective on how the body views the police department’s use of Flock Automated License Plate Readers.
According to the report, Oak Park police made two stops as result of Flock data during the second half of 2024, one stop in which a vehicle was believed to be connected to an armed robbery in Oak Park and one stop in which a vehicle was believed to be connected to an attempted murder case in Chicago.
Police made four arrests and recovered two firearms between the two Flock-aided stops.
Oak Park police also searched the Flock database for case information related to 48 different incidents during that span, according to CPOC’s report.
In the report, CPOC said that they want the police to provide them with information describing how Flock cameras have led to arrests before the committee will recommend the cameras’ effectiveness to the village board.
“Despite repeated requests by CPOC for evidence of ‘successful investigative outcomes’ to illustrate the value of Flock Safety ALPR for this use, OPPD remains unwilling to provide such data,” CPOC wrote in the report.” “Consequently, there is no evidence whatsoever that Flock Safety ALPRs have played a meaningful role in any Oak Park crime investigation since their installation in 2022. With a total of two stops and approximately 2.1 investigative searches per day over this reporting period, it is clear that no statistically significant crime prevention or resolution is realized by using the Flock Safety ALPR System here in Oak Park. Because OPPD is unwilling to share downstream crime outcome data with CPOC, it is impossible to gauge any actual benefit of Flock Safety ALPRs, especially when compared to real-life evidence of ALPR system misuse and mounting privacy concerns nationwide.”
CPOC submitted a formal recommendation to the board alongside its report asking that the police department be required to share detailed information on how it searches the Flock database to help with investigations.
“Access to investigative search outcomes is critical for CPOC to fulfill its oversight duties. Evaluating search justifications, false positives, and case outcomes enables CPOC to determine whether ALPR searches lead to lawful, unbiased, and effective enforcement actions—or whether their use meaningfully contributes to public safety in Oak Park,” the committee said in the recommendation document.
This report comes as CPOC’s role is being reviewed by a specialized consultant looking to provide the village with recommendations on how it might modernize the committee.
Last November, Oak Park’s village board approved $100,000 to fund consultant group Pivot Consulting Group’s study. The group has already submitted a report describing best practices in the oversight field to the village.
Citizen Police Oversight Committee Chair Kevin Barnhart said he hopes the consultant’s report will yield suggestions that give the body more influence over police policy.
“Overall, we’re looking towards the step of the role of CPOC evolving in this community and standards changing so that we’re not doing something from 35 years ago,” Barnhart told Wednesday Journal earlier this month. “It’s the updating of our processes and procedures so they have a little more board teeth and are a little more ingrained.”
Pivot staff expect to submit their final report reviewing the Citizen Police Oversight Committee to the village board before the end of June. The village board will discuss the findings at a meeting soon after.