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Anmmt 11; 1970
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<br />At a rbgular meeting of the City Council, held on August 11, 1970, there were present:
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<br />Jack P. Barnes, James W. Holtey, Burrell R. Johnson, Isaac W. King, R. Irvine Smith, Raymond B. Smith,
<br />Raymond Turner, A. P. Johnson~ Jr., City Manager, and M. A. Kerb, Jr., City Attorney.
<br />
<br /> The meeting was opened with prayer by ~rr King.
<br /> The minutes of the regular meeting held on July 28, 1970 were read and approved.
<br /> 79-335 - The following report from the Chairman of the Blue Ribbon Police-Community Relations Board, was
<br />presented:
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<br /> "By action of City Council on May ~, 1970,.the undersigned were appointed to study the question of whether
<br />a Police-Community Relations Board should be established and we were directed to report to Council within sixty
<br />days. At the meeting of City Council on June 9, 1970, we requested and were given an additional sixty days to
<br />complete our studies and report to Council. c: :
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<br /> Your committee held four public hearings; two in council chambers, one at the Wesley Coramu_uity Center
<br />and one.at ~e Cradock Community Center. We also met four times in private discussions.
<br />
<br /> Spokesmen from many community groups appeared before our committee; among them: Cradock Property Owners
<br />Association, Simousdale Oivic League, Civil Service Com~aission, Chamber of Commerce, Central fl.ivic Forum, Wesley
<br />Community Center, Portsmouth-Chesapeake Council on Human Relations, Medis co. Warren Young Adult Missionary
<br />Society, Ida Barhour Park Neighborhood Council, Portsmouth Bar Association and the Portsmouth Police Department.
<br />,~te had correspondance from the Portsmouth Ministerial Association, Brighton Improvement League, West Park Garden
<br />Club, Gosport Lodge No. 20 Fraternal Order of Police, scores of private citizens and several hundreds of names
<br />subscribed to petitions. A sub-committee of our group studied the Norfolk Police-Community Relations program
<br />and we studied information relative to Police-Community Relations programs from the cities of St. Louis,
<br />Hissouri; San Francisco, California; Miami, Florida; and Matin County, California. We also received information
<br />from the National Urban Coalition, the Unitdd States Department of Justice Community R~lations Service, and the
<br />Division of Justice and Crime Prevention of the State of Virginia,
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<br /> Your Committee gratefully acknowledges the receipt of invaluable information from the above mentioned
<br />groups and individuals; as well as the cooperation of the news media in publicizing our meetings and the patienc
<br />of City Council in granting us additional time to make.this report.
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<br /> At the outset may we state that we regret the term "Police-Community Relations Board" was used in estab-
<br />lishing this committee because it apparentlyresulted in the immediate polarization of views among our citizens
<br />and the police department. Many thought:Oehad been appointed for the express purpose of finding means to
<br />est~lish a civilian police review ~oard. We do not believe that was the intention 6f council and we did not
<br />approach our task with that in mind.
<br />
<br /> This polarization of a~titudes appeared to be mostly alongracial lines. Our black citizens appear to
<br />have a fear and distrust of the police and a feeling that their vo&ces are not being heard by those in authority
<br />and, on the other hand, the police appear to feel their "hands will be tied" if mny change be made in present
<br />procedures.
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<br /> Our conclusion, therefore, is that polarization of community attitud~s~can be just as dangerous for
<br />P~lice-Community Relations as is a defensive posture by the police when community relations is discussed. We
<br />approached our task, ~hen, with the thought that we had to find some means to improve Police-Community Re-
<br />lations in the City of Portsmouth. We believe this dan be done with the cooperation of all citizens of Ports-
<br />mouth, black and white, and top administrative support from the Police Department.
<br />
<br /> We do not believe it necessary, nor do we recommend, the establishment of an outside civilian police re-
<br />view board. We feel this would be bad in principle for both the citizens of Portsmouth and the police. It is
<br />bad practice to separate authority from responsibility.
<br />
<br /> We make our recommendations with the knowledge that our police are called on to perform hard, unpleasant
<br />and dangerous ~ork, all too frequently under suspicion and hostility. They a=e caught in the middle. On the
<br />one hand, they are told tO "Get tough"; and on theeother, they are accused of brutality. They are told to crack
<br />down on crime and ~et admonished to preserve the rights of individuals. The public insists on crime prevention
<br />and at the same time demands limited use of force.
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<br /> We believe we can maintain a balance between the security of our community and the rights of individuals
<br />through an ex?anded education-training oriented Police-Community Relations program. We, there.fore, respectfully
<br />sffbmit for your consideration the following recommendations.
<br />
<br />I. NEIGHBORHOOD POLICE-COb~.~dNITY RELATIONS OFFICERS
<br />
<br /> Your 6ommittee commends Chief C. L. Warren for the assignment of Sergeant D. E. Brown to the Southside area
<br />of the city. We believe that the initial success of ,this pi~ot program is such that it should be expanded into
<br />other areas of the city. We asked Chief Warren to provide us with cost estimates. Attached hereto you will
<br />find Chief Warren's estimates which ~otal $30,000 for a one year program to establish and fund ~p~ce-Contm~unity
<br />Relations offices in the following neighborhoods: Mount Herman, Douglas Park-Jeffrey Wilson, Lincoln Park-
<br />TrlLxton-Brighton, and Ida Barbour-P.ark View-Downtown. These would be in addition to the present cost of the
<br />Southside pilot projedt.
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<br /> In making the above recommendations we do not intend to slight the white neighborhoods of our city, but we
<br />feel that the greatest .improvement in Police-Community P~elations would result in the prompt establishment of
<br />suc~h offices in the areas mentioned. We would hope that such offices could be eventually established in all
<br />neighborhbods of our city.
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<br /> Your com~nittee feels that these neighborhood P/CR offices will provide a c~mmon meeting ground for citimmms
<br />and the police and make it possible for each to understand the duties and responsibilities of the other. We
<br />recognize that many citizens of these areas through lack of understanding or, perhaps, fear will not go to the
<br />police department to seek redress of their grievences or to protest what they consider to be unequal treatment
<br />under the law. Therefore, ,great care should be used in selecting these neighborhood P/CR officers. They must
<br />be able to get along with their fellow officers as well as all kind of people and act as liasion between the
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