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Oct 2008 Update |
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Over the past six months or so, the main ongoing issues under discussion by the board of the Hawkeye Chapter have been the activities of the Citizen’s Police Review Board (PRB) in Iowa City, and the placement of cameras in the restrooms of the Iowa City Public Library.
We – especially members Caroline Dieterle and Dean Abel – have been monitoring meetings of the PRB for a number of months, and attended the PRB’s recent public forum. There we learned that the PRB is not provided with any information that would allow them to determine whether the behavior of particular officers has generated multiple complaints, whereas they are provided with the names of complainants. We have a concern that this may result in someone who complains several times being identified as a “complainer,” and having complaints taken less seriously, while the presence in the police force of officers who provoke multiple complaints cannot be discovered. We will continue to discuss this situation.
We – in particular, board member Rebecca Reiter – have had several communications with Susan Craig, the IC Public Library’s head librarian, over the issue of the restroom security cameras, the reasons for which they were installed, their placement, and the poor placement of the signs that advise patrons of their presence. We are pleased to report that our concerns have been resolved by better signage and by an assurance that the cameras do not violate restroom privacy.
We were also pleased to have Kelley Putman attend our June board meeting and provide us with an overview of the organizational structure of the ACLU nationally and the rules that govern appointment to the national board. Caroline Dieterle has proposed, and the board is considering, sponsorship by the Hawkeye Chapter of an ad campaign on Iowa City buses in defense of the eighth amendment.
Evan Fales, Board Secretary
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