Recently, Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington announced the formation of an outside review panel that will look at every operation of the Atlanta Police Department. This should be welcomed news to the citizens of Atlanta to ensure that the department is being ran in the most professional and cost efficient manner. This particular panel is not typical of outside reviews which are typically made up of local citizens and community leaders.

Pennington has appointed a private consulting firm to look at how the department goes about the business of public safety in the City of Atlanta. Pennington has been quoted as saying that "every phase of police operations will be examined." If Pennington is serious about this commitment, and there is no reason to believe that he is not, he should be given credit as an unbiased panel is the best method for evaluation. Pennington used this method previously when he was Chief of Police for the City of New Orleans.

For years, police departments were slow to invite citizen or appointed panels into the police department for evaluation processes. It was the mind set, for many years, that police departments should be a self evaluating body as they knew their procedures and policies better than anyone else. Who better to grade their work product than themselves? Unfortunately, it became painfully obvious over the years that during these "self-examinations" the ability to admit fault was sometimes not in the best interest of the department. Only after long standing problems exploded in a single event did the public find out that such problems had existed for long periods of time without correction.

Citizen review panels have the ability to come in and evaluate services in manner that can remain unbiased, whereby the only goal is to ensure that the best possible product, in this case police services, is being made available to the public. There is no doubt that this process can be painful if members of the panel have a hidden agenda and are looking for smoking guns that do not exist. It is imperative that these panel selections be made in a process that would eliminate anyone who might seek anything but the truth. Once the panel has been seated, then it is equally important to have department representation to explain processes and be available for investigative or fact finding task that the panel may see fit. This process is no different than the grand jury process whereby ordinary citizens, under the guidance of prosecutors, seek the truth as to particular allegations that have been made in criminal cases. It is in the best interest of a police department to receive a favorable finding, from an unbiased citizen or independent panel than a finding from a panel made up of department appointees. This clean bill of health, or not in some cases, offers a legitimate process that any professional department should welcome.

Most of our local departments have already put into place a review panel that is made up of citizen representation. This speaks well of the commitment by our public safety sector to have everything out in the open. Many departments have benefitted by these reviews as private sector methods of "doing business" have been adapted to law enforcement's historically para-military style for a more efficient means of operation. Furthermore, our departments have dispelled the notion that it is not possible to openly scrutinize policy and procedure platforms without placing vital intelligence gathering mechanisms in jeopardy. Those who might still lean on this tired old excuse may have more to hide than they will admit to. Policy panel reviews and police certifications are the best available resources that we have as law enforcement agencies across the country strive to achieve the upper echelons of public safety practices.

Anything less than a fair, constructive, and impartial view of public service agencies will appear to be without credibility and create suspicion on the part of the general public. Certainly, public trust is a goal that must be not only sought but achieved by all law enforcement agencies. Citizen review panels will go a long away to ensure this trust as we proceed together in the pursuit of justice. Kudos to our local departments who have time and time again displayed allegiance to this notion.