Reform group to hold virtual town hall

The newly formed Ulster County Justice and Reform Commission wants to hear from the community about how the county can work to improve relationships with its communities of color and address what County Executive Pat Ryan on Tuesday called the “long-standing, systemic, inequalities, injustices and racism built into all of our systems, especially our criminal justice system.”

During a Facebook live event Tuesday, Ryan said the commission will hold a public forum via Zoom at 6 p.m on July 22 to begin gathering community input about those issues and possible ways to address them. It will be the first of what Ryan said will be several similar forums held by the commission.

“In the coming weeks and months, the Ulster County Justice and Reform Commission will actively listen to the community to propose meaningful changes needed to our criminal justice system,” Ryan said.

“This process is only going to work if everyone participates, particularly that members of our Black and brown communities understand we want and need your voices at the table to help understand your perspective and to understand the change that you feel is necessary so we can reestablish that fundamental trust between communities and those that are sworn to protect and serve them, not just law enforcement, but the government at large,” he said.

Ryan created the Ulster County Justice and Reform Commission on June 23, after Gov. Andrew Cuomo charged all local governments with police departments to “perform a comprehensive review of current police force deployments, strategies, policies, procedures and practices, and develop a plan to improve such deployments, strategies, policies, procedures and practices .... ” Cuomo’s order cites the need “to foster trust, fairness and legitimacy, and to address any racial bias and disproportionate policing of communities of color.”

Ryan said the county’s 16-member commission, which is led by County Attorney Clint Johnson, held its first meeting via Zoom on Monday.

“It was a great initial discussion,” Ryan said.

He said the group discussed issues including ending mass incarceration, police oversight and accountability, addressing systemic racial bias, and healing divisions between law enforcement and the communities they serve, to ensure justice for all residents.

Commission members agreed that as a top priority it needed to solicit community input, so any decisions made “can be informed by the voices of our community, particularly communities of color that are often disproportionately impacted,” Ryan said.

In addition to holding a series of online forums, suggestion boxes will be placed at the Trudy Farber Resnick Building, in Ellenville, the Ulster County Restorative Justice and Community Empowerment Center, in Midtown and the New Paltz Village Hall, where people can leave written comments. Community members will also be able to submit comments online at ulstercountyny.gov/justice-reformcommission or sending an email to jrcomission@ co.ulster.ny.us.

Under Cuomo’s order, all municipalities with a police department must undertake the effort and adopt a plan with specific actions no later than April 1, 2021.