Like spring follows winter, the latest spate of New York Police Department scandals has brought a  New York Times editorial questioning whether the police can police themselves.

A series of scandals and crimes — very few of them uncovered by the New York Police Department — should leave no doubt that New York needs a strong, independent agency to investigate serious complaints about the city’s police.

There’s nothing more enjoyable than starting out with a logical fallacy, that the obviousness of a problem suggests the obviousness of a solution, in this case a “strong independent agency.”  But before dealing with the issue, even the Times’ editors know that they must first pay homage to the cops lest their reporters cars get papered with an inexplicable flurry of tickets.

Over all, New York’s 35,000 police officers have done a good job in recent years of protecting the city from crime and terrorism. But several corruption cases and a federal lawsuit alleging racial bias in the department’s stop-and-frisk policies have raised disturbing doubts about the management of the department and its ability to root out its own problems.

Sorry for the digression, but I would be remiss not to note that even the Grey Lady isn’t so arrogant as to piss off the police.

The problem isn’t that there’s a need, but that the solution comes around every generation.  Remember Serpico?  The Knapp Commission?  Does the Dirty 30 strike a bell?

Almost 20 years ago, a commission investigating corruption in the New York City police force recommended the creation of a “permanent independent oversight body” to oversee and investigate police and their Internal Affairs operations. Instead, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani created the Commission to Combat Police Corruption, which is supposed to oversee internal police investigations but has no power to demand documents or testimony.

Rudy and the cops didn’t get along very well, mostly because he and Bill Bratton were fighting for headlines in the New York Post.  But there’s one thing that everyone agreed on, that you can’t actually let outsiders have any influence over the police because they just don’t get it. Only cops understand cops.  Ask any cop. He’ll tell you.

Notably missing from the Times editorial is the CCRB, the Civilian Complaint Review Board.  From its own hype :

In 2006, the CCRB received 7,669 complaints from civilians, and closed 7,399 cases, of which 2,680 were full investigations (meaning that the civilian participated, the officer(s) were identified and an investigation was closed after doing a full and through investigation). Approximately 6% of the full investigations resulted in a Substantiated disposition. 262 cases were mediated, which is an option for certain complaints provided the officer does not have an extensive CCRB history, there was no arrest made and severe force or abuse of authority were not involved. In mediation, the officer and civilian both voluntarily bypass the investigative process and meet each other one-on-one with a third party mediator to discuss the incident and resolve it. This results in no disciplinary action being taken against the officer and often results in a more satisfied civilian as an outcome.

Wow, about 6% of complaints, out of those deemed worthy of a full investigation, are “substantiated.” resulting in a firm admonition not to be a bad boy again. Yup, that’s got ’em shaking in their boots. 

And so we have more “scandals,” because the old commissions worked so well.  Official people, which includes the editorial board of the New York Times, love committees, commissions, boards, groups of all flavors.  Between the diffusion of responsibility and the dynamic of groupthink, the love of consensus and compromise, the ability to appoint friends and supporters to positions that they can put on their resume and provide fascinating cocktail party chatter, there’s nothing better than a committee.

Ironically,  Seth Godin recently explained the nature of committee as it relates to a business trying to get something done.

If committees told the truth

“Hi, we’re here to take your project to places you didn’t imagine.

With us on board, your project will now take three times as long.

It will cost five times as much.

And we will compromise the art and the vision out of it, we will make it reasonable and safe and boring.”

That’s how committees work at their best.

Police Department spokesman Paul Browne has argued against the need for new oversight. He said that the Internal Affairs Bureau has been expanded in recent years and that it has often helped with investigations started elsewhere. That is not good enough. New Yorkers need to have confidence that any problems with the police are fully and fairly investigated. A truly independent agency, with real powers, is the only way to ensure that.

I know. Let’s create another commission!  I’m sure the next one will work.  Even though they won’t ask anyone with guts and a healthy skepticism of police and government to be on it, and it will be filled with all the blue ribbon types, with vested interests in government and an eye on their next important appointed position, perhaps with a NYPD parking permit.

But even if they did, it wouldn’t matter.  It’s a committee, and by definition, it won’t work.