Citizen’s Review boards of police practices is a common name
Facts
These are excellent organizations if they have the proper backing and are allowed powers of investigation and the same individual immunities granted to police/DA when conducting an investigation. In order to be truly effective, the review board must be empowered to force criminal prosecution if investigation shows criminal activity.
The real world
Typically these are given lip service by the law enforcement organizations they are formed to monitor and have been restricted to the extent of having virtually no power to do anything except "Rubber stamp" the police decisions.
The normal review board is pretty much neutered and powerless as can be seen in this 09 March 2001 article in the San Diego Union Tribune: Deputies exonerated. Will try to find more on this story, but it appears that the CLERB found possible criminal misconduct on the part of several deputies in several different events and the decision was overturned by, of all things, the county Civil Service Commission. You would think the DA or Attorney General would carry the investigation and determine the real facts, but this appears not to be the case.
An unreasonable statute of limitations is typically placed on these organizations and the police/DA take severe advantage by delaying your ability to see how they are working to frame you until after that statute has expired then fight to insure the review organization cannot address your case. A reasonable statute should not start to run until all legal activity has completed.
Action
Push your local politicians to form an effective review organization or modify an existing organization to be effective. Members of the review organization must be outside the realm of police/DA communities and have a natural suspicion of government power and authority. The review organization must have all the powers of investigation and the same immunities as the DA.
San Diego area law enforcement review organizations: