Covering the Land of Lincoln

Urbana Civilian Police Review Board members want change

by: Jamal Williams

Posted: Jan 20, 2023 / 07:31 PM CST

Updated: Jan 20, 2023 / 07:31 PM CST

URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — Members of Urbana’s Civilian Police Review Board said it’s time to make some changes.

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The organization reviews and suggests ways police officers can better their relationship with the community. Changes will be made for the first time in their 12-year history.

They want more access to decisions police make when people file appeals against the department. This includes access to internal data like body-cam footage, police reports, and traffic stop information.

Board member Tony Angretti said they’ve been backed up with appeals since 2020 and need more help to get through them all. He said one way to do that is by removing the requirement that convicted felons can’t be board members.

“We’re currently dealing with 41 in a backlog,” Angretti said. “We’ve already reviewed about 10 of those so I say roughly 50, 50 or so appeals.”

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Board members also take people’s suggestions into consideration when they make changes. While they can make some changes on their own, they need city council approve to get access to the data they want.

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