IPA MISSION

The mission of the Office of the Independent Police Auditor (IPA) is to provide independent oversight of and instill confidence in the complaint process through objective review of police misconduct investigations. By providing outreach to the San Jose community and making thoughtful policy recommendations to the City Council, the IPA works to promote accountability and to strengthen the relationship between the San Jose Police Department and the community it serves.

IPA GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. The IPA strives to ensure that all concerns reported by members of the public are classified and investigated at the appropriate level based upon the premise that any case brought forward containing misconduct issues will be classified as a complaint with associated allegations, findings and officer names tracked.
2. The IPA reaches out to inform the community about the complaint process and to listen and respond to broader community concerns.
3. The IPA carefully considers aggregate data from complaints, community concerns and public policy in crafting recommendations aimed toward improving the quality services of the San Jose Police Department.

IPA STATEMENT OF VALUES AND NO-GIFT POLICY

1. Statement of Values
2. No-Gift Policy

NEWS, NEWS, NEWS ...

1. IPA Teen Leadership Council is Accepting Applications -
What do you think about the way the police treat teens? How about the way that teens treat the police? If you are a San Jose teen, age 15-18, we want to know what you think! Join the IPA Teen Leadership Council (IPA-TLC), an advisory council made up of youth. Meetings are the 3rd Saturday of each month, 10am–12pm, in downtown San Jose. Guest speakers have included Mayor Reed, SJPD Chief of Police Chris Moore, community leaders, lawyers, judges and youth service providers. TLC members participate in community outreach and develop their leadership skills. Applicants must live or go to school in San Jose and be 15 to 18 years old. The deadline to apply is Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 5pm. Click here for more information and application.

2. 2011 IPA Year End Report is Released -
IPA Judge LaDoris H. Cordell (Ret.) will present the 2011 IPA Year End Report (Report) to Mayor Reed and the City Council on Tuesday, April 24, 2012. The report contains information about complaints received, closed, and audited during the 2011 calendar year, the IPA’s recommendations to improve SJPD procedures and polices, and a description of the IPA’s considerable outreach activities in 2011. To read the Report, please click here.

3. Complaint Intake Hours - In order to allow enough time to hear and process your complaint, COMPLAINT INTAKE HOURS ARE Monday to Friday, 9-11 am and 1-4 pm. We strongly recommend that you make an appointment to submit your complaint. Click here for map, driving directions and parking information to the IPA Office.

4. IPA staff person receives award -
We are pleased to announce that IPA Senior Analyst Diane Doolan Diaz has been selected to receive a Working Women’s Achievement Award from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Association of Santa Clara Valley. According to the Association, award winners were selected due to their excellent contributions to the local community, and for exemplifying the life, legend, legacy, and mission of the beloved, late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Association will present seven Working Women’s Achievement awards and ten Movers of Mountains awards at a luncheon on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, at the Flames Eatery, Banquet Room, 88 S. 4th Street, San Jose, Ca. 95112. Tickets are $35. For more information, please contact the Association at (408) 861-5323 or send email to mlkinfo@yahoo.com .

5. “The IPA Roadshow Hits the Airwaves” -
San José – IPA Roadshow, produced and hosted by the City of San Jose's Independent Police Auditor, Judge LaDoris H. Cordell, shows every Wednesday at 7pm. The show, entitled “The IPA Roadshow” will air on CreaTV’s Silicon Valley Cable Channel 30. The first episode featured Judge Cordell’s interview of San Jose Police Chief, Christopher Moore. The March episode features an interview with a representative from San Jose Internal Affairs.

In addition to hosting the program, Judge Cordell collaborated with Executive Producer Alison Nicole Stewart to produce each episode. Future episodes feature interviews of the former Mexican Consul General of San Jose, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, Superior Court Judge Teresa Guerrero-Daley, San Jose’s first Independent Police Auditor, as well as conversations with members of the Independent Police Auditor’s Teen Leadership Program. Each month, CreaTV will air one episode of The IPA Roadshow series, Wednesdays at 7 P.M. Comcast Cable subscribers in San Jose can watch the show on Silicon Valley Channel 30 every Wednesday, and via live stream and video on demand at www.CreaTVsj.org.
Click here for a full notification of “News Release”.

6. The IPA’s 2012 Student Guide Project –
The IPA is pleased to announce that the 4th edition of the IPA publication A Student’s Guide to Police Practices is now available on-line. A translation to Vietnamese is planned for later this year. You may view the 3rd edition of the guide at this link .

The 4th edition of the guide contains new sections about police officers on school campus, suicide prevention, and other important topics. Over 10,000 copies will be distributed to freshmen attending public high schools throughout the City of San Jose during the 2012 calendar year. The IPA wishes to express her appreciation to the Mayor, City Manager, City Council, San Jose Police Department, and Dr. Martin Luther King Association of the Santa Clara Valley for making the 2012 Student Guide Project possible.

7. The IPA is mandated to make recommendation to the SJPD to improve their practices and polices -
From 1993 to 2009, the IPA made 109 such recommendations, 85 of which were adopted by the SJPD. The IPA has just completed the first-ever audit of these recommendations. The results of the audit will be presented to the Mayor and City Council at their first meeting of 2012 on Tuesday, January 10th. To read the audit results, please click here.

8. Special to the Mercury News - LaDoris Cordell: San Jose should outfit police officers with cameras
By Judge LaDoris H. Cordell (Ret.)
Posted: 12/19/2011 08:00:00 PM PST
Updated: 12/20/2011 01:08:07 PM PST

Thursday morning saw San Jose's eighth officer-involved shooting this year, the fourth to end in a fatality. The circumstances of the shooting are under investigation by the San Jose Police Department. Undoubtedly, there will be a review and an assessment by the district attorney; and because a member of the public registered a concern about the shooting with us, the Office of the Independent Police Auditor will ensure that the investigation into the question of whether or not there was any police misconduct is fair, thorough and objective.
Click here to read the full article.

9. American Leadership Forum - Silicon Valley (ALF) to Honor IPA Judge LaDoris H. Cordell (Ret.) John W. Gardner Leadership Award -
November 3, 2011 Santa Clara, Calif. – American Leadership Forum-Silicon Valley (ALF) today announced ALF Senior Fellows LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, Independent Police Auditor for the City of San Jose as the recipient of the organization’s John W. Gardner Leadership Award.
Click here to read the full announcement of the Award.

10. Members of the IPA Teen Leadership Council were excited to meet Mayor Reed on August 2, 2011 at City Hall. They were also happy to thank Mr. & Mrs. Castellano of the Castellano Family Foundation for the generous donation of a $5,000 matching grant. If you would like to help us meet the $5,000 match, please make a donation today. You may make your check payable to “City of San Jose – TLC” and mail it to Vivian Do, IPA Office, 75 E. Santa Clara Street, Suite P-93, San Jose, CA 95113. Cash donations are also being accepted. The deadline to donate is November 1, 2011. If you would like further information about the IPA Teen Leadership Council or the matching grant, please call Diane Doolan-Diaz at (408) 794-6226.