City of Rochester
News Release
Notable News:
Working
Group and Mayor to Unveil Full Draft Response
- Working
Group and Mayor to Unveil Full Draft Response
- Proposal
spans 10 areas for improvement including: Accountability, Fostering a
Community-Oriented Culture and Response to Mental Health Calls, among others
- Mayor
Warren and Working Group Partners to Announce Plans for Public Feedback
Sessions
(Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021) – Mayor Lovely Warren and members of the
Executive Order 203 Working Group will unveil their draft response to reform
and reinvent policing in Rochester at 7 p.m., tonight, Thursday, Feb. 4 via
Zoom and the City’s YouTube channel.
“Our community is committed to reimaging and improving policing,” said
Mayor Warren. “There’s certainly more work to be done. However, we have made
real change before and I know we can do so again.”
The recommendations to be released tonight follow in a path of past
successes including: Police Section Office Reorganization (2014); Body Worn
Camera Implementation (2016); Red Light Camera Removal (2016); Creation of the
Police Accountability Board (2019); and Proposing Newly-Hired RPD Officers
Reside in the City (2020).
The proposals span 10 different areas for improvement and include:
Accountability: Petition the State of New York to amend the
Taylor Law and the Triborough Agreement to allow the City to terminate RPD
personnel immediately for cause and enable the City to develop a completely new
collective bargaining agreement.
Community Engagement and Programming: Advocate for more resources and financial
support for programs such as mental health programs; youth and recreation programs;
job development; Pathways to Peace; conflict resolution programs; Rise Up
Rochester; ROC the Peace; United Christian Leadership Ministry (UCLM) Light the Way; Save Our Youth; Squash the
Beef; and other evidence-based programs that include oversight, evaluation,
transparency and training so that programs that are effective can be expanded
and improved.
Data, Technology and Transparency: Expand the RPD Open Data Portal and Data
Sharing with information on police-citizen interaction types, demographics
(i.e. age, gender, race) of people involved, type of response and whether force
was used, along with all other data that will allow Rochesterians to better
understand the nature of police response.
Fostering a Community-Oriented Culture: Fund policies and practices that begin to
inoculate the RPD from systemic oppression. These practices should include:
educating officers using immersive training methods that teach how systemic
racism and other forms of structural oppression, as opposed to mere “bias” or
“prejudice,” can influence policing practices; reinforcing this training
throughout officers’ careers; testing officers on their knowledge and providing
assistance as necessary; and, creating and enforcing disciplinary rules that combat
racism, misogyny and homophobia.
Officer Wellness: Consider appointing a Chief Resiliency
Officer, similar to the program started by New Jersey Attorney General Grewal.
The Chief Resiliency Officer is responsible for ensuring the implementation of
the New Jersey Resiliency Program for Law Enforcement. This statewide program
aims to help officers “to become better equipped to handle the daily stress of
police work that, when left unchecked, may lead to physical ailments,
depression and burnout.”
Police Policy, Strategies, and Practices: Develop a policy limiting the use of spit
socks or hoods and outlining strict guidelines for appropriate and safe use of
spit socks if and when they are used.
RPD Recruitment: Overhaul the Civil Service hiring system.
The City of Rochester is requesting a complete overhaul of the N.Y. State Civil
Service hiring and promotion system. It is evident, and research shows that
this practice has been, and continues to be, biased toward communities of
color. The City believes that the deciding factor of whether someone would be a
good officer or manager should not be based on how well someone scores on a
written Civil Service exam. The state should immediately convene a Civil
Service Commission to review and change the process for governmental hiring and
promotions.
Resizing the RPD: Aim to reduce RPD personnel within the next
5-10 years so it can reallocate these resources to other programs.
Response to Mental Health Calls: Support passage of Daniel’s Law and increase
funding for first responder systems that appropriately replace police with
social workers, mental health providers and other non-police personnel.
Training: Advocate for a change in N.Y. State law to require the State’s Division
of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) to mandate explicit and implicit bias,
systemic racism, cultural competency and procedural justice training in the
Basic Course for their Police Officer certification program. Mandate that this
training be continued through required routine in-service courses. Advocate for
funding for this additional mandated training.
The full list of recommendations, the entire draft report and executive
summary will be available this evening at cityofrochester.gov/executiveorder203.
Zoom Webinar Information: https://cityofrochester.zoom.us/j/99941887463.
Or iPhone one-tap: US: +16465588656,,99941887463# or +13126266799,,99941887463#
Or Telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your
current location): US: +1 646 558 8656
or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 301 715
8592 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or 833 548 0282 (Toll Free) or 877 853 5247
(Toll Free) or 888 788 0099 (Toll Free) or 833 548 0276 (Toll Free)
Webinar ID: 999 4188 7463
International numbers available: https://cityofrochester.zoom.us/u/ac98MHP3CG.
YouTube Stream: https://youtube.com/c/CityofRochesterVideos.
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