PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Barbara Attard is one of six City Council Appointees for the City of San Jose, California.
The Mayor and City Council of San Jose appointed her as the Independent Police Auditor (IPA) to begin
in January 2005. Ms. Attard provides oversight to the San Jose Police Department's citizen complaint
process. Ms Attard, a licensed private investigator, has civilian oversight experience spanning the
last 22 years. She worked for the last seven years directing the office of the Police Review Commission
in Berkeley. In Berkeley she supervised investigations of police misconduct and worked with the Commission
to make recommendations for changes in Berkeley Police Department (BPD) policies. Her career in oversight
began with the San Francisco Office of Citizen Complaints (OCC), a civilian organization that, through a
voter initiative, civilianized internal affairs investigations and segments of the disciplinary process.
At the OCC Ms. Attard supervised investigations and conducted policy analysis. Other professional experience
includes working in employment and training and with the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department County Parole
program.
PUBLICATIONS and PRESENTATIONS
Ms. Attard has written an article on mediation of police complaints for the California Association
of Human Relations Organizations, CAHRO. She has participated in various panels and presentations
and civilian oversight conferences in the United States and Canada including the following:
Mediation Panel, NACOLE Conference, Kauai, HI
Justice Post 9/11 Intelligence Gathering, Racial Profiling, Demonstrations and First Amendment Issues, NACOLE Conference, Los Angeles, CA
Support of Boards and Commissions Panel, and Investigation of Crowd Control Incidents, NACOLE Conference,
Chicago, IL
International Oversight Panel, Canadian Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, (CACOLE) Toronto, Ontario
Speaker at forums in communities seeking to implement or change civilian oversight programs in various cities, including: Riverside, Oakland, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Santa Rosa.
OTHER CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS
At the Berkeley Police Review Commission, Ms. Attard convened various task force meetings with
community groups and individuals, civic leaders, commissioners, and Berkeley Police Department
command staff to develop policy and training recommendations and City Council items on a wide array
of subjects, including: Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual Training; Homeless Issues; Critical Mass/Bicycle Issues;
Developing a Training Bulletin on Consensual Encounters, and Proposal of a Canine Program.
While at the OCC in San Francisco, Ms. Attard developed an "Early Warning System" for detecting
and counseling
San Francisco police officers whose citizen complaint records indicated possible
problematic behavior patterns.
Ms. Attard was a member of “Police Discipline Roundtable” in San Francisco—a task force comprised
of members of the Police Commission, police administration, the police union, and the community, which
made recommendations to solve problems in the S.F. police discipline system. She also represented the
San Francisco OCC on the Social Issues Committee of the Human Rights Commission.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION
Barbara Attard is the Vice-President of NACOLE (the National Association of Civilian Oversight of
Law Enforcement). She has been a member of the executive board of for the past five years, serving first
as secretary.
