Community members are asked to volunteer 10 to 30 hours a month to help with San Diego Police Department oversight.

The city of San Diego is looking for volunteers to join its Commission on Police Practices, an investigatory city entity independent of the mayor, police chief and police department.

“Think law enforcement oversight,” Commissioner Darlanne Hoctor Mulmat, representative for District 1, which includes La Jolla, said Aug 13 at the La Jolla Village Merchants Association meeting. 

CPP was established in the mid 1980s, Hoctor Mulmat said, after a “controversial case” led to the formation of a temporary oversight body that became permanent.

CPP is funded by the city, with a mission to hold the San Diego Police Department accountable and increase public trust in law enforcement through independent oversight of the department; evaluation of complaints against SDPD personnel; evaluation of SDPD policies and practices; suggestions for change; and investigation of officer-involved shootings, in-custody deaths and other significant SDPD incidents.

CPP is composed of 25 community volunteers: nine district representatives, nine at-large representatives, five low- to moderate income area representatives and two youth representatives (ages 18-24)

“We really try [to] represent every kind of community that we have in the city,” Hoctor Mulmat said. 

There are two meetings per month, she said, held on the first and third Wednesdays each month from 5 to 8 pm. There are also committees, case reviews and trainings. Volunteers can expect to spend 10 to 30 hours monthly.

To apply to join the Commission on Police Practices, click here or email applytocpp@sandiego.gov. 

To file a complaint on police misconduct, email commissiononpolicepractices@sandiego.gov.