The Department of Public Safety is formulating a mediation process to fill a hole in DPS’ ability to respond to complaints against officers.
The mediation process would be used for complaints regarding officer behavior that do not warrant a full internal investigation.
“(It’s) a really amazing way to look at the low-level static,” Annie Bentz, director of Conflict Resolution Services, said.
Members of the Public Safety Advisory Group said the gap between a full internal investigation and doing nothing about complaints irks students and others who feel they were treated disrespectfully by a DPS officer.
“There isn’t (a mediation process), and it leads to frustration,” Ilona Koleszar, director of ASUO Legal Services, said.
DPS Interim Director Tom Hicks agreed, saying a mediation process would “give the campus community the sense that there’s another mechanism to air their concerns.”
Bentz and Hicks are working on formulating a mediation procedure with PSAG.
“When mediation would be most valuable is when it’s pretty obvious right off the bat that the officer didn’t violate a policy,” Hicks said.
Hicks said he would determine whether a complaint warrants mediation or a more serious investigation.
“I think we’ll fairly quickly be able to screen these,” Hicks said.
Cases in which someone claims an officer used excessive force or committed a crime would not be appropriate for mediation, he said.
Hicks emphasized that officers would not have to go through both mediation and an internal investigation.
Eugene Police Department campus liaison Sgt. Kris Martes cited the stress an officer endures during an internal investigation and indicated that officers would be unhappy participants if they have to go through mediation after an investigation.
“I would be less than agreeable at that point,” Martes said.
Before a mediation proceeding can begin, both sides must agree to accept the outcome, Hicks said. Officers would not be disciplined as a result of a mediation proceeding.
“That’s not going to be an option,” Hicks said.
Hicks said he and Bentz are examining the mediation process used by EPD as well as those of other campuses as models.
He added that mediation would not include lawyers, union representatives or other advocates.
“The mediation itself would be just a one-on-one encounter between an officer and someone who wanted some questions answered,” Hicks said.
Bentz said that this is common in mediation processes, and that she and a trained student mediator would also be present at the meetings.
Mediation would be a long-term project to increase public trust in DPS, Hicks said.
“The main benefit of this type of program is not immediate,” he said.
DPS received six or seven complaints last year, according to Hicks.