Conduct and Consent Committee Investigatory Procedure

Conduct and Consent Committee Investigatory Procedure

Our goal is to gather enough information to be able to make fair and reasonable recommendations whether to allow someone or a group continued access to events or as a volunteer.

Anonymity

If a reporter provides information to the Conduct & Consent Committee (CCC) but does not want us to talk to the person or persons their report is about, we cannot make a recommendation to the Santa Cruz Burners LLC on that case. We will retain the information, and may contact the reporter in the future. When a case is being investigated we will do our best to maintain the anonymity of the reporter but cannot guarantee it.

Timeline

The CCC tries to hear multiple perspectives about some complex situations, and our volunteers often have busy schedules just like the witnesses and others with whom they talk.  It can take several months to have a sufficient number of conversations to provide an understanding of the situation behind some reports. If you are interacting with the CCC (as a reporter, subject of a report, or witness), you can help keep our process moving by responding to emails from investigators in a timely fashion, and you are welcome to check in with investigators yourself about report status.

Typical Step-by-Step Procedure

  • When the Incident Report is submitted, CCC Leads are automatically notified of the report.
  • CCC Leads contact the reporter to verify the content and suggest two investigators, then assign those investigators after confirming these are acceptable to the reporter.
  • Investigators review what has been reported and contact the reporter to gather further information. Investigators explain possible next steps and possible outcomes to reporter.
    • If the reporter does not want the Investigators to interview the subject of the report, the case will be archived, and no recommendation will be made to the Santa Cruz Burners LLC regarding this report. Should the CCC receive other reports about the same person, the reporter in this case may be contacted as a witness.
  • If proceeding to follow up the report, investigators will then talk with witnesses and the subject of the report.
  • Investigators may also consult with character witnesses such as other event hosts, and follow up any leads of similar behaviors to establish if there is a larger pattern.
  • Investigators bring the results of their investigation back to the CCC.
  • The CCC recommends action(s) to the Santa Cruz Burners LLC such as:
    • Provide an official warning
    • Bar a participant from volunteering in particular capacities or in any capacity
    • Ban from unSCruz events for either one year or permanently
    • Archive the information and recommend no action
  • Upon receiving a recommendation, the Santa Cruz Burners LLC may:
    • Accept the recommendation
    • Request further detail or additional investigation
    • Pursue a different course of action
    • Santa Cruz Burners LLC will produce a statement as to why they made the decision they did
  • unSCruz Conduct & Consent Committee Santa Cruz Burners LLC representatives contact the subject(s) of the report with an official notice
  • unSCruz Conduct & Consent Committee Santa Cruz Burners LLC representatives contacts the reporter(s) to notify them of the Santa Cruz Burners LLC’s action
  • If the subject or reporter has questions or wants to appeal, a communication channel with the Santa Cruz Burners LLC will be made available
  • The Santa Cruz Burners LLC determines whether to announce the decision to the unSCruz community or other event