Furthering transparency and strengthening community partnerships will be at the center of the work done by the new Ram Police Advisory Board and the Colorado State University Police Department.

The Ram Police Advisory Board will be a board composed of CSU community members and serve in an advisory capacity to the chief of police on issues relevant to community-police relations and outreach to the community. Applications for the first cohort of the board and available online The board will begin meeting during the Fall 2023 semester.

The purpose of the Ram Police Advisory Board is to give the campus community an opportunity to act in an advisory role to provide recommendations to the CSU Police Department concerning community policing issues. A primary goal is to have a broad spectrum of viewpoints represented.

“Community collaboration is critical for any police department,” CSU Police Chief Jay Callaghan said. “No more so than a university campus. We have a dynamic community of students, employees and residents and we are invested in the success of each person here. The Ram Police Advisory Board will help support CSU by providing perspective, context, and advice directly from the community.”

The members serve as a sounding board for the Chief by providing a forum for discussions concerning community issues, which could include:

• Use of force.
• Mental health response.
• Criminal activity and trends.
• Transparency.
• Homelessness.
• Technology.
• Police-community relations.

The board, comprised of eight to 10 members, will have discussions driven by the active participation, creativity, and vision of its members. The board will be in an advisory capacity. It does not have power or authority to investigate, review or participate in specific police personnel matters or specific police-related incidents, and will not involve itself in issues of complaints of officers or officer discipline. (General police and procedural issues may be discussed.) It will not play any role in civil or criminal litigation.

Board service is strictly on a volunteer basis, and they will not receive any form of compensation.

The term for board members is for two years.

Members are expected to:

• Uphold the department’s values of integrity, respect, professionalism, and accountability.
• Attend the scheduled meetings and be prepared to engage in an honest and productive dialogue.
• Treat each other with dignity and respect.
• Maintain the confidentiality of information that is designated as confidential and discussed and/or disclosed during the meetings.
• Not to use the meetings to facilitate personal agendas.