Boise said goodbye last week to its ombudsman. For 14 years, Pierce Murphy served as a third party check on the city’s police department.
One of his last projects was a report on how well Chief Mike Masterson and the department have prepared officers to respond to calls involving people in crisis. Murphy spent about six months studying the department's Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT.
Murphy found that last year, Boise officers responded to more than 6,000 calls involving people in crisis. And, despite Murphy’s recommendation in 1999 for specialized training for such calls, today only 22 percent of officers have had the instruction. Department policy doesn't mandate CIT training for all officers. Murphy says that can be problematic.
"If the culture isn't such in the department that an assignment like this isn't seen as desirable and beneficial to the officers, you have a hard time getting volunteers," Murphy says.
Other departments have decided to mandate the training for all officers. Portland did so several years ago in the wake of an officer-involved shooting. But mandating the training can also be a problem.
"The old saying is you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink," Murphy says. "Just because you have the training doesn't mean you're committed to using it, that you understand it, that you've got the temperament and commitment to provide that service."
Murphy's last day on the job was July 9. He's now serving in a similar role in Seattle. The Boise City Council picked senior investigator Dennis Dunne to serve as the city's interim ombudsman.