BUFFALO, N.Y. — A group formed back in March to augment the Buffalo Common Council's Police Oversight Committee is starting to take shape.

The Police Advisory Board has met twice a month since then and will soon organize into three subcommittees: community engagement, policy and accountability.

Board member Erin Carman, an assistant professor of social work at Daemen College, says she looks forward to the group contributing to criminal justice reform.

"Whether that's police community relations, greater transparency in law enforcement bodies, some changes to policy, help with revision of policy and recommending best practices and innovations in those areas," Carman said.

Carman says the board will be fully operational next month and should be able to provide input to the Police Oversight Committee ahead of its next meeting on September 25.

Committee Chairman David Rivera says he has been encouraged by the relationship between the committee and the police department.

"We're doing a test project for body cameras. Accreditation, we're working with administration, the union and the common council to make sure the police department is accredited," Rivera said. 

Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo says the department recently started its second phase of its body camera testing, this time with a new vendor in order to let officers compare them and determine the best product to use.

He says they are carefully researching what could be a $1.5 million to $2 million a year investment when implemented department-wide.

When it comes to accreditation, Rinaldo says a big part of the process is demonstrating the proper handling of property and evidence, which he says will improve when they move Headquarters.

"Part of our new headquarters project has been in re-defining how we store, where we store and the security that surrounds the storage of our evidence property," Rinaldo said.

As for the department's relationship with the Police Advisory Board, Rinaldo says they've only had introductory conversations but he looks forward to collaborating with them in the future.

"Any time that there's a better understanding between the police and the community in terms of what the police do, how we operate and why we operate the way we do, it always leads to better relations and builds stronger communities," Rinaldo said.