Prince William County Government states on their site that “the Police Department established the Citizen’s Advisory Board (CAB) in 2017 to begin obtaining feedback from the community on critical topics, as well as to expand the lines of communication between the Department and key stakeholders within our community.” Following a summer of protests against police brutality, advisory board members reflect on the successes and failures of the institution.

While speaking with Acting Police Chief, Jared Phelps he expressed that he believes the CAB has “been extremely effective.” He acknowledged that there are “miffs” discussed “in detail” during meetings. Such as conversations around “the SRO [school resource officers] program.” Including “how its run” and “how it is administered in schools.” As well as “what the school resource officers actually do in the schools.” One outcome of this structure is that police have “taken that feedback [from the CAB] and tweaked some things” Acting Chief Phelps emphasized his view that “give and take is so important” and that the CAB “adds that extra layer of working with the community.”

Carlos Castro, owner of Todos Supermarket on Route 1 and a representative of the “business community” and the “Hispanic business community” on the advisory board. Finds it to be “very constructive because not everything is positive feedback to the police.” Reflecting back on implementation of the ‘probable cause’ policy in 2007, Castro commented that “Chief Bernard was the perfect example [of a leader] when he refused to be pushed around by the politicians and the Board of Supervisors.”

Amidst all the national conversations around the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement, systemic racial inequality against Black people, and the relationship those issues have to policing, institutions such as the Citizen’s Advisory Board come into question. Both in terms of the function it is meant to serve and whether or not it is adequately serving such a function. Currently there are no measurements in place to gauge the success of PWC’s CAB. Without them community members can only look to anecdotal evidence and outside studies for insight.

At the turn on the century the U.S. Department of Justice conducted a study of citizen oversight systems of police across the country. Their conclusions, which apply only to oversight boards (the CAB is not an oversight board) state that “despite its serious limitations” citizen oversight “can have important benefits.” These benefits include making the public feel “validated” and “satisfied” while allowing the police to “improve their relationship and image with the community.” Tangible benefits are limited to a reduction in the number of civil law suits.

Acting Chief Phelps brought up the tear gassing of protestors on Sudley Road in Manassas by Prince William County Police as a major issue addressed during a CAB meeting.

Castro’s suggestion during that conversation was that “we [police and other community members] need to demonstrate to the people that are protesting that they are not alone. That we understand the reason why they’re doing what they’re doing and they have our support. Adding that he could “tell that they listened to the advice of the people in the room” because the PWCPD “pretty much weathered the storm without major incident.” Concluding that “we [the CAB] are trying to feel what is the feeling of the community at large and try to accommodate to get better results for the community.”

During the conversation with Acting Chief Phelps he explained how the CAB has “hit a good mix of the hodgepodge that is Prince William County, because we are a very diverse county.” Prince William Police Department’s goal is to “hear from the different voices and different concerns.” Castro echoed these sentiments saying “It’s a very diverse group. It’s very diverse in race [and] religion.” Current membership includes representatives from Congregation Ner Shalom, MAV, PWC PFLAG, and VOICE among other groups totaling between 15 and 25 organizations at any given point.

Now retired, Police Chief Bernard established this program. Due to his sudden retirement Jared Phelps took over as Acting Chief. There is an ongoing and active search for a new Chief. A now closed survey sought community feedback on selecting a new and permanent chief.