Policing and Criminal Justice Recommendations
Unity Council Recommendations
Policing and Criminal Justice Recommendations
Concern or Issue
• There is a deep divide between youth and police that prevents APD from having more positive relationships with Arlington ’ s youth
• Some Arlington Police Officers are not well educated or connected with the communities they patrol
• Stress can put police officers ’ mental and emotional health at risk and therefore it may prevent them from carrying out their responsibilities as public servants and healthy citizens . Great Life Counseling psychologists have reviewed the current psychological assessment and have identified gaps in testing which provide evidence of trauma , depression , and bias
• APD Police Academy and In-Service Training should allow for more community input / interaction and include more training that focuses on police misconduct
• An abundant amount of data that could assist in identifying racial disparities and behavioral trends of officers in policing exists , but the crime analysis unit is understaffed and unable to adequately utilize this data to enhance and / or create departmental policy that addresses these issues
Recommendation
Recommendations
Short term
• Create a partnership with APD and the Arlington Parks and Recreation Department to expand the Police Athletic League to include sporting activities throughout the entire school year , competing in the County championship tournament
• Mid-term : Build upon the police ride-along program to include students and young adults
• Long-term : APD and AISD partner to create a class using the ACAP curriculum . Suggestion is to meet once a month to encourage more oneon-one engagement and form lasting relations with the youth
Short term
• Pair new officers with officers of a different racial / ethnic background and directly engage with communities of different backgrounds in their districts
Mid-term
• Create a plan that requires officers to attend community events , patronize diverse businesses , meet with different community leaders , and make connections with residents a minimum of 8 times per month , within the districts they work in . Police officers should introduce themselves and provide contact information to those that they interact with
Long-term
• Create an immersion program for officers to connect to the communities they serve . Suggestions include having officers live in their assigned beat for one week and connect with HOAs and other organizations that serve the area to learn about concerns in the community
Short-term
• To have a revised psychological process approved by the City Council . Select psychologists from different entities to administer the evaluations ( Psychologists should be racially diverse ). Additionally , conduct a survey to evaluate officers ’ and administrative leadership ’ s thoughts towards adequacy of current mental health programs / resources in addressing the changing needs of the department . Utilize the survey to determine the best changes to mental health programs / resources , including possibly hiring or contracting a full-time Chaplain and / or expanding upon the Blue Chip Program
Mid-term
• A standard minimum of 1 psychological evaluation administered every 3-5 years to each police officer . A mandatory psychological evaluation , with an LPC , will be administered to any officers involved in a traumatic event
Short-term
• Institute a mechanism for a reoccurring review process that includes the city manager ’ s office , diversity office ( r ), Arlington training academy , and other qualified professionals and community members to immediately review and evaluate high profile national incidents of police violence and misconduct and incorporate time sensitive changes in policy , training , or other processes
Mid-term
• Invite concerned members of the community to review training videos / materials and their relevance and understand the selection process of training materials ( to the extent where training is not compromised ). Incorporate this review process with the current police training advisory board and possibly appoint one member of the unity council to the training advisory board
Long-term
• Institute an annual or bi-annual law enforcement interaction seminar for students and members of the community that will incorporate scenarios of inappropriate police conduct and how to respond accordingly . This could be reconciled with the citizens ’ police academy model with a specific emphasis on culturally sensitive interaction
Short-Term
• Provide an increase in staffing of the crime analysis unit , whether through an increase of in-house professionals or the contracting of external professionals
Mid-Term
• Implement required periodic internal ( Chief of Police / Administrative Leadership ) and external review ( City Manager ’ s Office , Diversity Office , Permanent Unity Council ) of analyzed data to monitor department and officer behavior / trends with specific respect to disparities and adjust policies accordingly
Long-Term
• Translate review into layman ’ s terms and disseminate to the public to allow for citizens ’ feedback
Unity Council Report 132