Check CU recently published an article showing that the Danville, Illinois Police Department dispenses unlawful complaint forms. Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that the Police Department carelessly releases private information about complainants, such as addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, and date of birth.
On February 6th, 2022, an in-person visit to the Danville Police Department revealed another curious chapter to the story: apparently, it is not possible to obtain police complaint forms at their building and there is no such thing as a police complaint form.
When asked repeatedly, police services cleric Eric Loy said, in the presence of passing police officers, that police complaint forms simply do not exist. The claim that the Danville Police Department did not have complaint forms was repeated ten different times over the course of five minutes.
“There’s no form. Haha, I’m sorry, but there’s not a form.”
Mr. Loy said another individual had attempted to obtain a police complaint form within the past two weeks and he also informed that person that there were no forms.
“You’re the second person in the last couple weeks who has come up and asked for forms. There’s no form. I’d like to know if somebody’s been telling folks that there is, because there’s not.”
Loy said the only way to submit a complaint was to speak to a commander, but that couldn’t be arranged because of a shift change. He explained it would be best to return the following day. When pressed further, he did eventually provide an email address for the “high commander”.
For reference, here is a copy of the Danville Police Complaint forms and procedures/requirements, which Check CU was able to acquire via a public records request (click image for full 6-page PDF):
Maybe, in response to Check CU’s investigative news coverage, the city administration decided to revamp the police complaint form so that it adheres to state law and local ordinance.
Why would the Danville PD have police complaint forms available at the Public Safety Building? So they can look at them and then throw them away? Those forms are available through the Human Relations Department, which is located at City Hall on Main Street. The department investigates citizen complaints against city employees, including police.
That is the location of the Danville Police Department. Most police departments have some type of complaint form, though they are often hesitant to supply them. Supplying the forms in multiple locations, as well as online, is an excellent way to increase public access, but Danville’s form is not easy to find. Supplying complaint forms where the greatest concentration of law enforcement interactions take place (at the police station & jail) would seem obvious.
The police services representative was insistent that no such forms existed, and the only way to issue a complaint was to speak to a shift supervisor. Danville PD has a 5 page policy on investigating complaints, but it does not mention the Human Relations Department at all.
Perhaps the City of Danville could benefit from improved internal communication, but a much simpler solution is to remove all administrative barriers and openly supply the documents.