About two dozen City Council members are proposing a bill this week to create the office of the inspector general – someone to independently oversee the police force, not unlike those already in place in Los Angeles and Chicago – says the New York Times.
The article says that according to the bill, the office of the inspector general would “conduct independent reviews of the department’s policies, practices, programs and operations.”
According to the Times, the council members believe that with and , now more than ever, increased oversight is needed.
The inspector general would be a non-police officer appointed by the mayor, says the paper, and would have subpoena power, though how much money the office receives and who is appointed to the investigative staff would ultimately be determined by the City Council.
According to the Times, though, the NYPD believes that the proposed post is “redundant,” with department spokesman Paul Browne saying that everything an inspector general would do, the Internal Affairs Bureau already does.
What do you think? Should the NYPD have an inspector general? Or do the police already do the work of policing themselves?
