By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington’s civilian police panel has met for the first time and plans to host community outreach sessions every three months.

Art Taylor, who used to run diversity programs for employees at State Farm Insurance, is one of the seven members of the so-called Public Safety and Community Relations Board.

Taylor said open dialogue at community meetings might prevent potential problems between citizens and the police.

“To let people know what our purpose is, and what the purpose of the police are, what are the processes and procedures are,” said Taylor.

“Maybe through open dialogue and communication, we can alleviate issues even before they happen,” Taylor added.

The board will also prepare brochures to explain how to file complaints against the police, and how to communicate with board members and the police chief.

Board members can not investigate complaints against officers, but they can make recommendations and make sure police administrators follow proper procedures when conducting internal investigations.

In addition to the outreach sessions, board members plan to hold monthly meetings. They have yet to pick a chairman.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected].