After several years of debate, the Marin Board of Supervisors has put out the call for applicants to serve on a new citizens commission to oversee the sheriff’s office.

Precluding people with experience in law enforcement from serving on the commission, like some have requested, would be a mistake.

The commission is being formed to provide an open and fair forum for public review and discussion of issues regarding the work of the sheriff’s office, its management, deputies and staff.

Knowledge and experience in law enforcement, either as a police officer or a prosecutor, should be part of the composition of the nine-member commission.

They bring to the commission’s thought process experience and perspective of bringing on the front lines of enforcing the law and providing public safety. They should know the difference between right and wrong, even in a deputy doing his or her job.

That’s why supervisors made it one of the written goals in building the panel. To be fair, former sworn members of the sheriff’s department are disqualified.

Racial balance and representation from across the county should also be a priority.

The key question for all is whether they can hear and address issues fairly. The community and the department deserve that litmus test. Success in meeting it should be proven in the commission’s effectiveness — in meeting the community’s concerns and those of the sheriff and his deputies.

But providing seats for commissioners with previous law enforcement experience on the commission has been controversial with critics claiming that it brings an entrenched professional bias to the commission’s work.

Largely, that depends on the persons selected by the supervisors.

At the same time, supervisors should not rule out applicants who might have had previous run-ins with the law. If having been convicted, there should be a healthy period of time since their arrest and serving their sentence.

But they can also offer a firsthand perspective of their treatment by deputies, conditions in the county jail and their experience in Marin’s law enforcement system. Their resumes should provide evidence of time during which they have proved themselves as constructive and law-abiding members of the Marin community.

The commission is being formed in response to repeated complaints about the lack of effective public oversight of the sheriff’s office and concerns that citizens’ complaints are not handled in an open and fair manner.

It should include voices of those who have been impacted by the department and local justice system. It shouldn’t be loaded with people who have a standing or simmering gripe with the department. It also shouldn’t be filled with those who have had little or no contact with the sheriff’s office.

The commission needs to be balanced and its deliberations need to be fair — to all. The power of its consensus will depend on the breadth of voices represented on the commission. Picking the right people is just as important as the supervisors’ decision to create a panel and establish its parameters.

Calling for applicants is the first step in that important process.