AURORA, Colo. – A consent decree monitor has been selected to oversee and address the Aurora Police Department’s and the Aurora Fire Rescue’s policies, training, record keeping and hiring practices.
The City of Aurora and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office selected IntegrAssure, a Florida-based risk management consultancy, to provide independent oversight as Aurora “resolves issues identified in a ‘Patterns and Practices’ report on the city’s public safety agencies,” according to a news release from a city spokesman.
The decree gives the city up to two years to change its policies and training for both the police and fire departments, to address bias in policing, use of force and documentation of stops. It also aims to change the city’s hiring practices for the police and fire departments to make them more inclusive and reflective of the city’s diversity.
IntegrAssure will report on the city’s progress to the Arapahoe County District Court where the consent decree was filed.
“This independent consent decree monitor brings an experienced team to support the changes Aurora has committed to make to its police and fire departments,” said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. “I appreciate this team’s commitment to community engagement, collaboration, and use of diverse subject matter experts. Our team looks forward to working with them.”
IntegrAssure was one of two finalists to participate in a virtual public forum hosted by the city on Jan. 5 to answer questions from the community before the city and AG’s Office jointly selected which firm would serve as Consent Decree Monitor, the city spokesperson said. Both firms had previously interviewed with the city’s executive management team, Aurora City Attorney’s Office, AG’s leadership team, and command staff from the Aurora Police Department and Aurora Fire Rescue.
“Experience has shown us that a consent decree can be an extremely effective mechanism to catalyze reform, which in turn fosters community trust, reduces crime, and enhances officer safety,” said Jeff Schlanger, the president of IntegrAssure and the lead monitor for the consent decree. “These are our goals for the city of Aurora, and we are honored to play a role in creating a fairer and safer Aurora for all. We look forward to working collaboratively with the community and other stakeholders to ensure that fairness, transparency, accountability, and a process of continuous improvement become embedded in the culture of Aurora public safety.”
The Aurora City Council is scheduled to vote on a contract to pay for IntegrAssure’s services and finalize the competitive bidding process during the regular city council meeting on Feb. 14.
The consent decree monitor position is separate and apart from the independent police monitor division the city will fill later this year to oversee discipline and accountability at the Aurora Police Department, the spokesperson said.