December 13, 2016

Judge John A. West

Special Guest:
Deputy Chief Jonathon Brooks, Tulsa Police Department

Dr. Robin Engel, VP for Safety and Reform

1. Year-End-Review
2. CAC Review
3. 2017 Challenges & Opportunities
4. Role of the CAC
   

Judge West

• Tuesday, January 24, 2016 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM in 320 University Pavilion – Exiger External Monitor Presentation
• Tuesday, February 27, 2016 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM in 320 University Pavilion
  

CAC Members

• Judge John West, Chairman
• Eric Abercrumbie
• Doug Barge
• Marcus Bethay
• Bobby Hilton
• Dolores Learmonth
• Jack Martin
• Mitchell Phelps
• Ennis Tait
• Terri Theetge
• Charlene Ventura 

UC Administration

• S. Gregory Baker
• Robin Engel
• Maris Herold
• Bleuzette Marshall
• James Whalen 

CAC Members Not in Attendance:

• Peg Fox
• Aaron Greenlea
• Chara Fisher Jackson
• Raven Jackson
• Mel Otten
• KZ Smith
• Ennis Tait 

Judge John West

• Welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming to the final meeting of 2016.
• Welcomed Jonathan Brooks, Deputy Chief of Tulsa PD to the meeting. Chief Brooks is visiting the University of Cincinnati to learn about voluntary reform efforts and how UCPD is working with our community, and particularly the CAC.
  

Dr. Engel

• Chief Tony Carter is not in attendance because he is traveling. He is sitting in on national deescalation training for consideration of implementation by UCPD.
• UC President Search: 
  • Advised committee that the university president search is approaching closure. The newly selected President will be asked to attend a CAC meeting spring of 2017.
• UC Board of Trustees Update: 
  • Discussed reception held for exiting Board of Trustee Chairman, Rob Richardson who has served on the Board for nine years and has completed his term. 
  • Tom Cassady has been elected the new Chairman of the Board. He will also be invited to attend a CAC meeting in winter/spring of 2017.
• University leadership changes and work of the CAC: 
  • Dr. Engel discussed the number of changes in administration this past year. 
  • Thanked CAC members for giving their time and dedication to this effort. 
  • Asked everyone to continue being a part of this effort during the upcoming year to bring expertise to new university leadership.
• External Monitor Update: 
  • Dr. Engel noted that Jeff Schlanger and Roberto Villasenor from the Exiger team will be at the University in January and will attend the Jan 24th meeting. 
  • They will provide CAC Members with an update on their monitoring plans. 
  • The contract for the external monitorship of the UCPD will begin on January 1, 2017.
• Recruitment Process Update: 
  • Director Whalen discussed changes in hiring process. Taking great strides to recruit fairly and that comes with starting off with a solid pool of candidates to ensure that each position is fair and equitable. 
  • Director Baker reiterated points that Chief Carter discussed in November. We are incorporating a behavior assessment to replace the skill test. Looking at work ethics, backgrounds, etc. We are implementing the recruitment changes in phases. The second phase will have a non-traditional recruitment practice ready for advertising. 
  • Recruitment test was created by an outside vendor. It is currently being used by smaller police forces. 
  • Pastor Tait wants to ensure that the community is aware that the university is moving forward with changes and updates to the hiring policies and procedures. 
  • Dr. Engel noted that all progress is being documented and will be readily available for Exiger, public requests, or forums.
• Survey Information Update: 
  • Dr. Engel discussed recent and future surveys to determine progress of reform efforts. 
  • Policing Perception survey will now be administered annually. This survey and along with the Enhancing Public Safety survey will be used to gauge our progress over time. 
  • Dr. Engel addressed question of whether or not surveys can be sent to outside community. The university has considered this; more likely to establish focus groups for feedback.
• UCPD Training Update: 
  • Lt. Col. Herold discussed training efforts within the UCPD. 
  • Field Training Officers (FTO’s) are currently receiving updated training now and will continue to receive updated training as it is available. 
  • Upcoming training courses for officers include: Problem Solving Training to provide evidencebased training will be received January 14-18; Mental Health Response Training is currently being arranged with an outside vendor – date to be determined. 
  • Narcan Training was provided to all officers. They have not needed to use this life saving measure since the training. 
  • Addressed question of whether or not officers are receiving training on working with Veterans who may be suffered from PTSD and other issues. UCPD will work with Veteran Affairs to determine what type of training would be available for this.
• Previous Events: 
  • When asked, Dr. Engel discussed the Drawn Event displayed in Myres Art Gallery in Steger Student Life Center earlier this year. 
  • Students were able to express what was in their hearts and on their minds on the walls or pictures at the display.
    

Dr. Engel

• CAC Review: 
  • Dr. Engel discussed the original CAC vision slide – the five Core Values of CAC. These values have been added to the police policies with the addition of a sixth value – Accountability.
• 2017 Challenges & Opportunities: 
  • Dr. Engel discussed plans to implement the use of Tasers in early spring. Al Gerhardstein has offered to facilitate meeting with Everette Howard’s family to discuss this practice prior to officer training and officers being equipped with Tasers.
• Community Engagement: 
  • Dr. Engel discussed our commitment to transparency; have been readily available this year and will continue this same commitment in the future, especially during the upcoming trial period. After providing an overview of the community engagement to date, she for feedback from CAC members regarding additional engagement opportunities. 
  • Feedback received: 
    • Pastor Tait reinforced that the university has been making amazing strides but the news is not reaching the community soon enough. 
    • We need to expand the message out to the broader community in a timely manner. 
    • We should discuss our progress with the media to ensure the public is getting the correct information and is aware of positive changes. 
    • Possibly setting up a blog, Marcus Bethay will assist with this practice. 
    • Look for partnering opportunities within the community. A lot of community members are working on similar ventures. We need to reach out to these community members and work together for the common goal. 
    • Contact needs to be made to the black alumni members and discuss ways for them to take the message of our positive changes out to their communities. 
    • Members agreed that while the reform effort is a work in progress, we need to let the community know that the university stepped up and followed through with changes and updates to policies and procedures. 
    • We need to demonstrate to the community and be proud of the accomplishments of the past year and advise them of our plans for the upcoming year and beyond.
      

Judge West

Judge West opened meeting for discussion.

• Judge West discussed the CAC. While reluctant to increase the size of the CAC, we will need to replace the business community representation now that James Schwab has moved out of town.
• Members suggested reaching out to the Cincinnati Chamber, UC Foundation and Cincinnati Bar Association (Dolores Learmonth will be liaison).
• Concerns regarding UCPD morale were discussed.
• Bishop Hilton discussed recent comments from local radio stations where callers were unaware of UCPD roles within the community. The message of jurisdiction and authority have got to be relayed to the community.
• Deputy Chief Jonathan Brooks thanked everyone for allowing him to be present at the meeting.
• Judge West thanked everyone for their participation and dedication for the last fifteen months. Happy holidays to all.
  

• Tuesday, January 24, 2016 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM in 320 University Pavilion
• Tuesday, February 28, 2016 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM in 320 University Pavilion