AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/consent-decree/)
A virtual briefing on public safety and policing was held this week that covered the city’s newly passed civilian oversight ordinance and also touched on the alternate response model that calls for more involvement by mental health professionals.
West Side elected officials, the city’s top cop and local residents met virtually this week with the goal of promoting a healthy relationship between police and the communities they serve.
Last week’s meeting, held via Zoom was the second of two “community conversations” the Chicago Police Department is holding as it crafts a strategic plan for 2021. Each district is coming up with a plan as part of the consent decree the department signed in March 2019 with the U.S. Department of Justice.
If true reforms do not happen right away, we need to eliminate our current system, writes state Rep. La Shawn Ford. The Austin lawmaker says this is not about individual police officers or bad apples; this is about a system that is inherently flawed.
Suggestions were offered this past weekend at a community meeting organized by the independent monitoring team put in place as part of a federal court consent decree the Chicago Police Department is under. Sitting at tables in the Austin Town Hall auditorium, about 30 people answered two questions: What are your hopes for the consent decree, and what are your concerns?
There will also be roundtable discussions to gather the perspectives of Austin residents to ensure the monitoring efforts – part of the consent decree the Chicago Police Department is under – “reflect the priorities of Chicago’s diverse community members.” Refreshments will be served at the meeting, which will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 21 at Austin Town Hall, 5610 W. Lake St.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford and the office of Attorney General Lisa Madigan are holding the meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 4 at Austin Town Hall, 5610 W. Lake St.