Hamilton Area Anti- Racism Coalition denounces county for inadequate police reform efforts

The Police Reformcommittee of madison County has failed at following the Governor’s Executive Order for police reform. The hamilton area Anti- Racism Coalition ( HAARC) submitted a statement at the madison County Board of Supervisors’ outlining the ways inwhich the county is not following the mandate.

In our statement, we highlighted the seven most glaring problems. To name a few, none of the committee members have expertise in police reform, and none of them have expertise examining racial inequity. They have also done a terrible job engaging the community.

HAARC also suggested corrective measures the county can take. “They need to add key stakeholders to the committee who are experts in racial equity, effective in community engagement and most importantly, people who are most impacted by negative police practices. The Governor’s office made it easy, they published a guide that walks communities through this process, and the county is not using it.

Localities all over the state are taking on police reform as mandated by Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order 203. This was made in response to the rise in protests that occurred following George Floyd’s murder. The order calls on local governments to work with the community to create a police reform plan. The order states that “urgent and immediate action is needed to eliminate racial inequities in policing, to modify and modernize policing strategies, policies, procedures, and practices, and to develop practices to better address the particular needs of communities of color to promote public safety, improve community engagement, and foster trust”.

HAARC will submit another statement and make comments at the upcoming police reform meeting on December 16th. Hamilton Area Anti- Racism Coalition