More than half of the people on Wichita’s new police review board have failed to meet a city requirement, but they may not be removed if the City Council changes the rules.
The city formed the Citizen’s Review Board in part to increase transparency with the Wichita Police Department and improve community relations. People on the board are required to go through the department’s Citizens Police Academy within a year of appointment.
But fewer than half of the 13 appointees to the board have done so as the January deadline approaches. The City Council on Tuesday will hear a proposal to change that requirement, and other modifications to the ordinance creating the police review board.
The Citizen’s Review Board is a group of people intended to “advise and assist the City of Wichita and its police department in policy development, education, community outreach and communications related to police community relations,” according to city ordinance.
All appointees to the board must be enrolled in the department’s Citizens Police Academy within 90 days of appointment and complete the academy within a year, among other requirements. Appointments were made in January.
But only five of the 13 people appointed as members or alternates on the board appear to have completed the requirement to go through the academy. Only one of the five likely met the 90-day enrollment deadline.
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