Task force to share policing findings

The Reenvision Public Safety Task Force will hold a virtual Town Hall meeting at which it will present its findings in several key areas identified by the task force as part of its charge to reexamining policing in the city.

The virtual Town Hall will be held from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 16. The meeting is open to the public with registration and will have live Spanish interpretation.

Each task force member selected a topic surrounding policing in the community and will present proposed solutions and metrics for the successful implementation of those recommendations.

The task force has focused on four key areas of reform: Alternatives to Direct Police Response; Use of Force and Accountability, Recruitment, Training and Morale; and Community Policing. Within those four areas, task force members identified 12 topics to research: Examining SROs (school resource officers) in public schools; mandatory crisis intervention training for police officers; alternatives to police engagement regarding mental and drugrelated issues; re-envisioning the Kingston Police Commission; developing procedural justice policies in the Kingston Police Department; upgrading police accountability and discipline; improving morale on the police force; greater transparency of the police department; building a supportive and rehabilitative criminal justice system; instituting intensive racial bias training, and creating community ambassadors.

“The public safety task force has been working hard to research key areas of improvement, and will present their findings and suggestions for implementation at the next public meeting,” said Mayor Steve Noble in a press release announcing the meeting. “This is a passionate group of community members, who each bring a unique expertise and perspective to these important issues, and I look forward to seeing their presentations and hearing feedback from the community.”

Lester Strong, executive director of the Peaceful Guardians Project and the project facilitator, said the presentations are “still works in progress.”

“The goal is for community members to be able to more thoroughly review our work and come to the meeting better prepared with questions and feedback. In this way, we hope community input can be even more rigorous,” he said in the release.

The presentations are now available at the Engage Kingston site at engagekingston.com.

The Re-Envision Public Safety Task Force was formed to address law enforcement-community relations, use-of-force policies, procedural justice, systemic racial bias, and practices that may contribute to racial disparity in the community, among other issues.

The task force has met bimonthly since September to review current police force policies, procedures, and practices, and develop a plan for any necessary improvements, with a focus on the needs of the community and fostering trust. The Task Force will provide a comprehensive plan to the mayor and Common Council, which, under an executive order by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, must be ratified by April 1.

To register to participate in the virtual town hall go to bit.ly/3otrTQC.