MIDLAND, TX (KWES) - For Councilman John Love the citizens police review board was an idea born out of the voices for his district.
"In my district there seem to be a lot of people who are voicing there situations and interactions," said Love.
To make progress for his community, Love turned to his fellow council members, "I asked council to give me their blessing and they did that so I went to city attorney staff and asked about what they could put together."
This resulted was the initial plans for the citizens review board.
As it's currently written, the advisory board would be made up of seven members each selected by the city council.
This committee would here formal complaints from citizens about the police department.
The committee would then conduct their own investigations, and in turn recommend policy changes or improvements for the city council's judgment.
"It's something that would give citizens a voice while not causing detriment to the police department," said Councilman Love.
While John Love says there always room for improvement, the councilman says he whole heatedly trusts his current police department.
"I honestly believe this will strengthen the relationship between the police department and the community.
Though, after hearing about the idea, Midland's interim police chief Seth Herman also see the advisory board as a positive.
"We as a police department should strive for transparency and community inclusion, and that's basically the direction this goes," said Herman.
The citizen police review board remains in the council's review stages, but is expected to be placed on the council's agenda for a vote in the future.
