Meeting_Body
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
FEBRUARY 24, 2022
Subject
SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO MOTIONS ON COMMITMENT TO REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE the Reimagining Public Safety Framework, which is inclusive of the report back on Motions 26.2 and 25.1 Policing Alternatives, Motion 44 Mental Health Resources, and a peer review of Customer Codes of Conduct.
Issue
ISSUE
Since 2020, the Metro Board has called on staff, through various directives, to give significant attention to transforming and reimagining Metro's public safety programs and initiatives. Shaped by considerable feedback from the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC), Metro employees, and the general public, Metro is better aligning operations to the needs of the public through intentional and equity-driven public safety initiatives. This report provides a status on these initiatives - Motion 26.2 & 25.1, the alternative approaches to Public Safety (Attachments A & B), Mental Health Resources Motion 44 (Attachment C) and the Customer Code of Conduct review, and a summary of the new intelligence led public safety strategic framework for Metro to serve as the bridge between ideas and action.
Background
BACKGROUND
Following the George Floyd protests in 2020, a national dialogue erupted about the state of public safety and policing in America. Community activists and many voices in communities of color argued that over-policing created inequitable treatment and too many situations of unnecessary violence, while law enforcement expressed frustration about being called on to manage scenarios they were not trained for, such as social work and mental health emergencies. But as the conversation evolves, it is clear that while law enforcement is necessary to uphold laws and reduce crime, the approach to public safety should be comprehensively reexamined and reimagined to be more diversified.
In response to growing calls...
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