Committee to Review Policing Policies

Committee to Review Policing Policies 11/12/2019 Committee to Review Policing Practices Community Room @ BPD Tuesday, November 12th, 2019 Generated by Laura Cheney on November 14th, 2019 Members present: Chief of Staff Jordan Redell, Deputy Chief Jon Murad, Officer Vinny Ross, Chair Randall Harp, Police Commissioner Jabulani Gamache, City Counselor Joan Shannon, Councilor Perri Freeman, Jim Dunn, Vice-Chair Skyler Nash, Thomas Nececkas, Melo Grant, Sgt Namdar, Kevin Rodgers and Carter Neubieser. Staff present: City Attorney Eileen Blackwood, Laura Cheney 1.0 Call to Order Chair Randall Harp called the meeting to order at 5:49 PM 1.01 Agenda – Additions or Modifications Motion by Jordan, second by Vinny to adopt agenda. VOTING: Unanimous; motion carried. 2.01 Public Forum No speakers. 3.01 Approval of Minutes of 10/29/19 Motion by Skyler, second by Vinny to approve minutes. VOTING: Unanimous; motion carried 4.01 Discussion: Recommendations on Page 1 of 5  Committee to Review Policing Policies 11/12/2019 Recruitment, Use of Force & Training Chair Harp noted he will be reporting to the City Council by the end of November and will not be sharing recommendations, but providing an update and requesting an extension. Thomas asked if any civilians are involved in reviewing a background check before an officer is hired, particularly around the issue of domestic violence and potential warning signs. • Currently, there is no civilian involvement. • Thomas requested that an officer with expertise in domestic violence be involved in reviewing backgrounds prior to hire. Jim inquired about the current state of community policing and foot patrol in Burlington and if neighborhood assignments are in place. • DC Murad noted that various positions, swing shifts led by Sgt DiFranco, and the philosophy of the department, are designed to cultivate community policing. In 2020, we will be implementing area assignments to further neighborhood policing. • Kevin requested further information and data about other proactive and preventative initiatives that foster community policing. Skyler recommended the committee focus on best practices and policy, not debating the math behind how to allocate city funds. • Perri noted she believes participatory budgeting is quite common and we should be involved in budget recommendations. • Jordan suggested a budget presentation if the committee would like to make recommendations regarding the budget. DC Murad noted that Chief del Pozo has directed the department, and is leading the profession, in a shift toward public health as a means to reduce crime. Possible Recommendations: • Jim recommended considering incentives to encourage officers to reside within city limits, perhaps starting with a small pilot project, to further community policing. ◦ Skyler suggested a survey of officers to identify obstacles that may stand in the way of officers living in the city. • Carter recommended capping the number of officers at 100, in order to reallocate funds to social service organizations, investing in social workers on staff, and regional services that are proven to reduce crime. ◦ Joan is opposed to reducing the number of officers and noted challenges within her neighborhood of getting police response as officers triage and manage more high risk incidents in the downtown area. While it has improved as a result of management, reducing the numbers is not the direction to see continued/improved attention to other areas of the city. Page 2 of 5  Committee to Review Policing Policies 11/12/2019 • Kevin recommended further developing community and proactive policing. • Perri recommended mandatory implicit bias testing, to include socioeconomic bias, be incorporated into the hiring process, as well as training. ◦ Jordan inquired about what bias testing is out there and what departments are using bias testing. ◦ Perri will research and provide more information. ◦ Kevin will share results and data in regard to bias testing. ◦ Jesse recommended considering the empathy tool as a replacement for the MMPI as an alternative to implicit bias testing. We should evaluate what each of those tests have to offer. • Perri recommended looking into ways to help the department meet the goal of achieving diversity to match the city. • Kevin recommends changing the role of the police commission to increase its ability to proactively set policy, review police activity and improve civilian oversight. 4.02 Discussion: Use of Consultants Kevin put forth a proposal to gather information from the community about their perceptions and experiences of the police through a “climate survey” in order to identify root causes and make recommendations. He has a few local individuals in mind that could help to facilitate the survey. DC Murad shared details on a recent text survey put out to 15-17K people who’ve interacted with the police and provided a phone number. We expect, given the size of the pool, it will offer statistical significance. A follow up, longer survey, will be mailed out and questions will be shared with the committee. • Kevin expressed concern about how this was conducted and will be very critical of the results. • Kevin requested info on the design, goal and validity of the survey. City Attorney Blackwood shared info on two recommendations for consultants: The Policing Project at NYU School of Law, and The Police Executive Research Forum. Kevin noted the Camden, NJ Use of Force policy is impressive and could be adopted and modified, rather than reinventing the wheel. Perri recommended Campaign Zero for consulting and will reach out to them. Chair Harp inquired about how long the city RFP process typically takes. • City Attorney Blackwood noted it could take up to 2 months, and we need to identify and determine the focus for a consultant. Jim noted that the meetings are not well attended by the public, and perhaps getting community members to the meetings would be helpful. Chair Harp requested all members share any possible consultants with the committee for further discussion at the next Page 3 of 5  Committee to Review Policing Policies 11/12/2019 meeting. 4.03 BPD Presentation - Disciplinary Process Postpone to the next meeting. 4.04 Next Meeting Agenda Items & Date Kevin motioned to start meetings at 5pm on 12/3, second by Skyler. VOTING: Unanimous; motion carried Topic for next meeting include: Disciplinary Process Consultants Partnership with Street Outreach - DC Murad motioned to bring Street Outreach at the beginning of the meeting, second by Chair Harp. VOTING: Unanimous; motion carried 5.01 Adjournment Motion by Skler, second by Vinny to adjourn the meeting. VOTING: Unanimous; motion carried. Adjourned at 7:54 pm. Next meeting: December 3, 2019, 5pm. Page 4 of 5 Committee to Review Policing Policies 11/12/2019 Page 5 of 5