New Castle County is the first in Delaware to set up a police accountability board

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer is scheduled to sign into law an ordinance passed by the County Council on Tuesday that will establish the state's first police accountability board.

Accountability boards were part of a series of legislation state lawmakers passed over the summer. The law enforcement policy reforms were first called for by the Delaware Legislative Black Caucus and state Attorney General Kathy Jennings in June 2020 — about two weeks after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

More: Lawmakers tried for years to increase Delaware police transparency. It's finally been done

"County residents now have a seat at the table when it comes to law enforcement accountability," County Executive Meyer said in a statement, adding that government must be accountable. "That applies to me. That applies to our police officers."

Establishing the board became a state mandate when the accountability bill was signed into law, requiring all Delaware police departments to establish police accountability boards to advise those agencies on policy, training and other matters. Delaware police agencies are required to create the boards and gain accreditation from the Delaware Police Accreditation Commission by July 1, 2028, standardizing many policies and procedures across all of the state's law enforcement agencies.

The New Castle County Police Accountability Board will include 11 voting board members and two non-voting members. Eight of the voting members will be recommended by outside organizations to the county executive with the advice and consent of the County Council.

Those organizations and the members would need to meet certain criteria that are defined within the county ordinance. Three additional members would be appointed by the county executive with advice and consent of the County Council. The voting members would be paid like other paid boards, $100 per meeting, and they would serve for two-year terms.

The creation of this board is the result of numerous productive meetings with criminal justice stakeholders from across New Castle County, including the state's Office of Defense Services, NAACP, county police, ACLU, Delaware Center for Justice and the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League.

Kevin O'Connell, Delaware Office of Defense Services' chief defender, said his office applauds the creation of the New Castle County Police Accountability Board.

"As mandated by the Delaware General Assembly's recent legislative changes, this board is a first step toward providing greater community input on police policies and procedures," O'Connell said. "Many underserved and overpoliced communities of New Castle County will hopefully now have a forum where their concerns can be addressed in a meaningful way.

O'Connell said his office believes there is still more to be done to realize the important goal of greater law enforcement transparency and accountability in Delaware.

"Nevertheless, by listening to the voices of the communities that the police are sworn to serve, New Castle County has hopefully created an advisory board that will be a model for other advisory boards in communities throughout our state," he said.

Meyer is expected to sign the legislation into law on Monday.

People interested in applying to serve on the board can do so by visiting New Castle County's boards and commissions website.

Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: New Castle County creates Delaware's 1st police accountability board