Minutes 08/11/1970 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1970 police department and the community in which they serve. II. NEIGHBOKHOQR C00BERAT,,ION COb,~ITTEES~ Attached hereto you will find prposed ordinance which your committee asked the City Attorney to prepare. This provides for the establishment of Neighborhood CooperaTion Committees with the citizens of these neighbor- hoods selecting their own steering committees and officers. W~ile these committees may initially be primarily complaint oriented, we feel they will soon emerge as positive community action directed groups. You will note we did not use the word "Police" in the designation of these committees, This is because we feel they will soon outgrow the field of Police-Community relations and seek to bring their neibhborhoods into better under- standing and cooperation with all departments of the city. Iit. CITIZEN CO~ LAINTS Your committee did not recommend establishment of a civilian police review board because we believe the complaints of all citizens insofar as their relationship with the police department be concerned can be ad- equately handled under present Police Department procedures, city.ordinances and the city charter. The police department has an internal review board whid~ will investigate the co~Dlaints of any citizen submitted in writing, and it will take appropriate action if it finds any wrongdoing on ~he part of any police officer. The Citizens Advisory Committee has broad powers under presentor~inances, and we feel it can be of great help to any citizen who seeks its aid. It can act as a clearing house'to channel complaints to properLaction agency, be it the police department of some other agency or department of the city. It should be especially helpful To Neighborhood Cooperation Committees in those areas not served by a Police-Community Relations officer. The Civil Service Commission has broad i~vestigative and penal powers ~nder Sections 11.02, 11.12 and 11.15 of the new city charter. Upon written complaint of any citizen, in writing, it can subpoena witnesses, conduct hearings and impose penalties for violation of civil service rules and regulations. IV. INTRA-DEPART~NT PUBLIC RELATIONS pOLICE OFFICER TRAINING We believe an expanded program in education and training within the police department would better equip our police officers to meet our problems in public relations. The content of this program should be focuMed a~ound human relations so that the police officer will come toknm~, and understandt~e causes of abnormal conditions ... poverty, unemployment, delinquency, drug addiction, apathy ... which they encounter everyday. We also recommend that police officers be encouraged to enroll in courses in law enforcement now offered at Old Domini.on University and Frederick College. V, ADEQUATE ,P,OLICE DEPARTb~INT PERSONNEL Chief Warren has stated that discontinuing foot patrols and placing officers in cars resulted in a los~ of contact and communication between the citizens and the police. He feels the establishment of Police-Com- sunity Relations Offices in the above mentioned neighbo~mods will be a big step in correcting that problem. We, therefore, join Chief Warren in his request for additional officers. We also recommend the establishment of a Police Cadet Program particularly during the summer months whimh would release regular police officers for more efficient use of their skills. Police Cadets would not bear arn~s or have power of arrest, but they could serve as walkie-talkie observation posts, meter readers and do other routine ta~ks. Many cities have found a Police Cadet program effective in recruitment of prospective police officers as well as a means of providing summer employment for eligible young men of all races. VI. FUNDING THESE PROGR~4S Your Committee is cognizant of the fact that these programs will be expensive. We feel that nilot proc gram~ ~:~n be~-funded~ through at~easZ-twp~sources which have been brought to our attention. The Omnibus ~rim: Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-3SI) provi_des for matching fund grants for such programs. We are ~lso informed that the Ford Foundation has recently established a Police Devmlopment Fund of $50 million for five years to help local police departments make innovations to their functions, trainln~ and types of personnel. This program is to encourage police to define new standards and raise the levels of their own pro- fession. In conclusion your committee suggests that our first two proposals be implemented as soon as possible. ~o recent newspaper articles prompt this suggestion. The first dealt with the pleas of a local minister for aid in protecting his church and neighborhood from vandals, and the second cited the fact ~]at our firemen were stoned recently when they answered a fire alarm. These incidents indicate the need for an all-out effort on behalf of all our citigens, black and white, to cooperate with the police department in reducing crime and violence in our city. Respectfully subiit[~d this 11 day of August, 1~70. Donald H. Sandie ...... Ch airman ...... James A. Overton Vi ce- Ch airman Secretary Rev. Harvey N. Johnson, Sr. L. David LmndaUrer T. ~udson ~right;, jIilI Frank H. Keeling , ~4ichael A. Korb, Jr. J. Frank I{illiams ~ordon W. Slaterbeck