× Expand Former Madison Police Chief David Couper (left) says “there’s very few people who can do” a credible evaluation of the MPD. Policing expert Michael Scott (right) counters that there are enough consultants to ensure a “genuine competitiveness” in the bid process.

The Common Council has approved spending $400,000 to review the Madison Police Department’s training procedures and use of force. But finding a qualified consultant to do the study might not be that easy.

“There’s not a lot of people out there,” former Madison Police Chief David Couper tells Isthmus. “It’s a wasteland.”

The city put out a request for proposals on June 13 looking for a consultant. The deadline is Aug. 8. So far, no one has responded.

Couper, who has recently been vocal in his criticism of Chief Mike Koval and the department’s use of force, says those doing these types of studies usually fall in two camps. “You’ll get some experts who’ve done work either for or against police, and if you’ve got one that’s done a lot of work defending police, the community will say, ‘Forget about it,’” Couper says. “And if it goes the other way the police union will say, ‘Oh this guy is biased against us.’”

“I’ve talked to couple of my colleagues across the country, and there’s very few people that can do this — who have the credibility or experience,” he adds.

But Michael Scott, a former Madison police officer who is now director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing at Arizona State University, has a different take.

“It is a relatively small community of organizations and individuals across the country with the expertise and resources to do these sorts of reviews, but enough of them such that there is genuine competitiveness in the bid process,” Scott writes in an email.

He estimates there are several dozen organizations that do this sort of work routinely.

Specific eligible agencies may be nonprofit and for-profit police research, technical assistance or membership organizations like the Police Executive Research Forum, the Police Foundation, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Institute for Law & Justice, Circle Solutions or Booz Allen Hamilton, says Scott.

University-affiliated police research institutes, the U.S. Department of Justice and private individuals with prior police management experience may also be interested in an undertaking like this, Scott adds.

Mayor Paul Soglin and the Common Council created a 14-member committee to study police department procedures and training two months after Tony Robinson, a 19-year-old teen, was shot and killed by Madison police officer Matt Kenny. The killing increased concerns about how Madison police use force, particularly with people of color.

The council anticipated the committee would have to turn to outside experts for advice. After months of work, the committee distributed a 38-page request for proposals outlining a comprehensive list of review expectations focused on use of force, racial biases, community policing and restorative justice.

The committee is accepting questions from interested parties until its next meeting July 14, says Luis Yudice, committee chair.

“We’re not rushing this. We know it’s important to do quality work in terms of the proposals,” says Yudice, a former Madison police captain who now works for the Madison school district.

The city clerk’s office sent the request for proposals to about 30 eligible candidates nationwide, says Gloria Reyes, deputy mayor for public safety, civil rights and community services.

The city identified qualified candidates with the help of the state Department of Justice, municipal officials in other states and through “word of mouth,” Reyes says.

“We’ve got a lot of press coverage on this,” she adds. “Anyone who follows this topic and anyone in this profession is following our progress.”

Scott says because this is not an externally mandated review, but rather, a voluntary one initiated by a local governing body other than the police department; its effectiveness following a completed review will depend on the quality of the study and the willingness of the police chief to implement the recommendations.

“The ‘voluntary’ reviews tend to be of two basic types — those welcomed or solicited by the police chief, for the purpose of helping the chief effect changes that the chief wanted to make; and those imposed on the police department by the local governing body, for the purpose of getting a reluctant police administration to make changes desired by the local government,” Scott says. “Obviously, the former type leads to more effective changes because they have the support of police leadership.”

Couper says that’s exactly the problem. If the report finds any areas where improvement is needed, Koval will be the one who is responsible for implementing them.

“The fact of the matter is, that’s what police chiefs do,” Couper says. “They are responsible for improving the systems they operate. And there’s the conundrum.”

Koval aggressively pushed back against the study in a blog post, complaining about how the price tag has grown from $50,000 to $400,000. The additional funding was later approved last month, over Koval’s heated objections at a June 7 council meeting.

Couper believes the high price tag is needed to avoid a study that ends up looking more like a “checklist.”

“If you’re going to do a good study and you have the opportunity to do it for $400,000, you do it for $400,000,” Couper says. “You don’t do it for $50,000.”

Reyes says the amount of the study proposal was determined after talking to officials in such cities as St. Louis and Cincinnati where similar studies have been done. She says it is unlikely a single individual could take it on. “Because our [request] is so broad and covers many areas within a department, we could potentially see a team of people apply,” Reyes says.

The city is looking for experts who have comprehensive knowledge regarding use of force and training, policing of people with mental health or substance abuse issues, and issues related to cultural dynamics and implicit bias.

The committee is also calling for a comprehensive analysis of police data, including records of arrests, citations, use of force, civilian injuries and fatalities. It also wants a review of investigation methods like interrogation techniques or identification procedure. The request calls for extensive interviewing of officers, administrators and civilians.