Officials in Arlington are launching an independent review of police practices and policies in the county, with the hope of having a final report and recommendations on possible reforms by the end of the year.

The review — which will be conducted by two outside experts and a 15-member citizen group — comes amid the nationwide protests over policing and police violence, which have spurred legislative and political action to defund and reform police departments.

Last month, Arlington County took its first step when it sped up the deployment of body-worn cameras for the police department and sheriff’s office; the cameras should be in use by January 2021. But the department also came under fire when officers were deployed under a mutual aid agreement with the U.S. Park Police to respond to protests in Lafayette Square in early June; they were quickly withdrawn after they helped forcefully disperse peaceful protesters so President Donald Trump could have his photo taken in front of a nearby church.

The first part of the review will kick off next week, and be led by Marcia K. Thompson, vice president of Hilliard Heintze Law Enforcement Consulting, and Julie Shedd, associate dean of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. The two will look at the police department’s use of force, training, recruitment, internal affairs, and data practices.

The results of that will then be handed to the 15-person Police Practices Group, which will dig into four specific areas: whether a police civilian review board is needed, whether police officers should be involved in providing mental health services, whether officers should engage in traffic enforcement, and what options for alternative dispute resolution exist. The group will first meet on Aug. 3.

The public will be offered opportunities to engage, and the final review and recommendations will be sent to the county manager and be used to inform the search for a new police chief. Jay Farr, Arlington’s current chief of police, is expected to retire by the end of the year.

“This group will start us on a journey to tackle the important issues we face as a community regarding public safety for all of our residents,” said County Board Chair Libby Garvey in a statement. “We have a fine police department in Arlington, however, it can and should be better.”

Some civil rights activists, though, are taking a wait-and-see approach to the review — especially whether any of its recommendations are ultimately implemented by Arlington’s elected officials.

“I’m willing to give this committee a chance,” said Julius Spain, president of the Arlington branch of the NAACP. “But I hope we just don’t have this committee to check the box and say we’ve done it.”

Spain says the line in the sand he’s drawing is whether or not the review includes a recommendation for a civilian review board with subpoena power, which he says would be one of the most powerful tools of oversight and accountability for the Arlington County Police Department.

“Anything less than that is a non-starter with us. That is our number-one priority. We believe independent oversight is warranted and needed in Arlington,” he said.

In Fairfax County, a Police Civilian Review Panel was created in 2017 after the fatal police shooting of John B. Geer four years prior. Still, activists are now demanding that the panel be given more independent investigatory power. Last month, Alexandria moved to create its own community board to review police behavior.

Arlington isn’t alone in looking to review its police department. In D.C., lawmakers have also created a 20-person Police Review Commission that will review the Metropolitan Police Department’s practices and policies and suggest reforms by the end of the year. And in Montgomery County, a Policing Advisory Commission was created late last year “to improve Council oversight of the Montgomery County Police Department and strengthen community trust in police.”

“Time will tell if they have the courage of political will to put forth substantive change,” said Spain of what Arlington’s elected officials will do with whatever comes of the review commission. “Many of these issues aren’t breaking news to us. They are longstanding and systemic issues. We expect to hear a lot of the concerns we’ve heard for years. It’s about what the county board is willing to put forth for change.”