October 25, 2016

Judge John A. West, Chairman

Dates for Future Meetings

Dr. Robin Engel, VP for Safety and Reform

1. Board of Trustees Resolution
2. External Monitor – Exiger 
   1. Proposal 
   2. Plan for Engagement 
   3. Timeline

Dr. Robin Engel
James Whalen, Dir. Public Safety
S. Gregory Baker, Dir. Police Community Relations

• Meetings and Outreach
• Media
• Community Engagement 
  • Activities and Events
• Campus Engagement 
  • Activities and Events
• Public Safety Preparations and Update
• Additional Preparations and Outreach
  

Judge West

• Tuesday, November 15, 2016 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM in 320 University Pavilion 
• **Tuesday, December 27, 2016 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM in 320 University Pavilion**
  

CAC Members

• Judge John West, Chairman 
• Eric Abercrumbie 
• Chara Fisher Jackson 
• Raven Jackson 
• Bobby Hilton 
• Dolores Learmonth 
• Jack Martin 
• Mitchell Phelps 
• James Schwab 
• Terri Theetge 
  

UC Administration

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

CAC Members Not in Attendance

• Doug Barge 
• Marcus Bethay 
• Mike Ealy 
• Peg Fox 
• Aaron Greenlea 
• Mel Otten 
• KZ Smith 
• Ennis Tait 
• Charlene Ventura 
  

Judge John West

Welcomed everyone and thanked them for being there. Members agreed on new date for December meeting, due to the Christmas holiday – the December meeting will be held the second Tuesday of the month - December 13, 2016.

• Board of Trustees Resolution - Dr. Engel discussed the Board of Trustees (BoT) Meeting on Tuesday, October 18th. The BoT approved a Resolution on Safety and Reform. The Board wanted to demonstrate to the community that the university is committed to the reform efforts and the six principles of policing that the safety and reform agenda will be guided by. (See University of Cincinnati Resolution on Safety and Reform.)
• October 17th “Shot Fired” Alert - Dir. James Whalen discussed the shot fired situation on campus. Discussed the decision to issue a shelter in place via email and Nixle text alert. Alerts are sent to all students/faculty and staff as well as any individual who has opted in to receive these alerts. Anyone, whether or not they are affiliated with UC, can opt in at UC Public Safety website. 
  • UCPD is currently looking at communication options for future situations. 
  • Dr. Marshall commended the UCPD Officers for being helpful and informative during the situation. She was also appreciative of the active shooter information that is now on Public Safety’s website, as she received emails and texts from students wonder what they should do and she was able to direct them.
• External Monitor Selection – Exiger - Dr. Engel discussed how Exiger was selected as the External Monitor. Provided a copy of the proposal from Exiger for CAC member review and to provide feedback at next CAC meeting. Various individuals who served on the Selection Committee discussed their reasoning and support for choosing Exiger. The committee picked two vendors to interview and among those two, Exiger was selected. Most felt that Exiger was thorough when performing the review and that they are familiar with the university’s various communities. They have already built a trust between university and surrounding communities. 
  • CAC members discussed the timeline for External Monitor to begin services. Decided that the monitoring should begin on January 1, 2017 to allow the trial to end and the UCPD to have time to devote to meetings, etc. with Exiger. 
  • Discussed what role the CAC will have with the recommendation implementation plan and it was confirmed that any recommendation that UCPD leadership feels with not work with our organization will come before the CAC to discuss prior to moving forward with Exiger.
    

• Dr. Engel discussed Safety & Reform presentations that she and UCPD leadership have been giving over the last few weeks. 
  • Meetings were held with Mayor Cranley, City Manager Harry Black, all City Council Members, and all County Commissioners. 
  • Various community groups and civil rights organizations have been contacted and engaged with regarding our various reform efforts. 
  • Presentations have been occurring internally – to most of the Colleges – including students, faculty, and staff members. 
  • Safety & Reform and Public Safety held a Community Forum Breakfast, and over 80 community members were in attendance. They received positive feedback regarding reform efforts. 
  • Public Safety is hosting a series of six workshops on various police and safety topics. Several student groups have attended; seem to be well-received.
• Chief Anthony Carter discussed preparations for trial and post-trial. Extra training on crowd control, deescalation, etc. No plans to block off or shut down university. 
  • Additional discussion of ongoing officer training including constitutional training, crowd control, police training officer-scenario based and community centered – officers are given situations that they have to work through. These officers will train new officers. 
  • Discussed communication with officers regarding not allowing yourself to be put into a life threatening situation to begin with that the use of force does not have to be used in as many instances. 
  • Dir. Greg Baker commented that once the trial is over, the community will see the positive reform efforts, which will build confidence and trust in the UCPD.
    

Judge West

• Dr. Engel asked Judge West and other members if there is anything else they think the University, Safety & Reform or Public Safety can do leading up to the trial and in the near future to rebuild trust. 
  • Members discussed perceptions about trial outcome and various scenarios and thanked the departments for all they are doing to encourage peace and safety during this time.
• Meeting was adjourned by Judge West.
  

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

WHEREAS, the University of Cincinnati is committed to creating a campus environment that promotes safety and well-being via service-driven, problem-oriented policing; and

WHEREAS, the University’s goal is to engage in fair and impartial policing, to enhance community trust and, ultimately, to create a national model for excellence in urban campus law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, the University created an Office of Safety and Reform, led by a vice president who is a recognized expert in the field, to actively manage its safety and reform agenda; and

WHEREAS, the University’s safety and reform agenda will be guided by the following six principles developed in collaboration with the Community Advisory Council:

1. TRANSPARENCY: Confidence in policing is based on transparency. The UCPD’s policies, procedures and practices must withstand public scrutiny. The UCPD will be transparent, with openness and accountability to the public. All information and data gathered regarding the UCPD’s policies, procedures and practices will be made available to the public, unless prohibited by law. 
2. LEGITIMACY: Legitimacy is the foundation of policing. To promote legitimacy, the UCPD must demonstrate that officers’ actions comply with constitutional and professional standards and are procedurally just. To enhance legitimacy, the UCPD personnel must sufficiently reflect the diverse population that it serves. Initiatives that encourage and track the recruitment, hiring, promotion and retention of qualified minority candidates will be developed and implemented. Based on these strategic efforts, the UCPD will create a culture of excellence through equity and inclusion. 
3. ACCOUNTABILITY: Accountability mechanisms—both internal and external to the UCPD—will be developed and implemented based on best practices and guided by community expectations. Any deviation from established professional and legal standards will be investigated appropriately and, if necessary, disciplinary action will follow. Additionally, citizen review of police accountability will be developed and implemented. 
4. FAIRNESS: To achieve the UCPD’s goal of treating all citizens with dignity and respect, officers’ actions will be based on applied legal principles, facts of an incident and input from all involved during police-citizen encounters—regardless of the individuals’ race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, citizenship status or other differences. To this end, the UCPD will develop and enact policies, procedures and training that promote fair and impartial policing. 
5. COLLABORATION: The UCPD will collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to further enhance openness, equity and inclusion. These stakeholders will have multiple avenues to impact decision making and provide external review. The UCPD will strive to rebuild community trust via collaboration and engagement. 
6. INNOVATION: The UCPD will be strategic and tactical in the implementation of evidence-based and data-driven practices. Problem solving and community-oriented policing will be used as guiding principles for all strategies, including for reducing crime and disorder as well as for handling internal operations. State-of-the-art training and technology will serve as the foundation for the development and sustainability of these innovative policing efforts. 

WHEREAS, these safety and reform efforts will be grounded in foundational research and resources such as: i) The Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (2015); ii) The Federal Collaborative Agreement with Cincinnati, Ohio (2002); iii) The Exiger Final Report for the Comprehensive Review of the University of Cincinnati Police Department (2016); iv) The Kroll Report on the Review and Investigation of Officer Tensing’s Use of Deadly Force on July 19, 2015 (2015); and v) An on-going review of nationally recognized policing and academic research; and

WHEREAS, the University will hire a qualified team of experts to serve as an Independent Monitor of UCPD and its efforts to implement relevant recommendations from The Exiger Final Report for the Comprehensive Review of the University of Cincinnati Police Department; and

WHEREAS, the University’s senior leadership team and Board of Trustees will receive regular updates and progress reports, in verbal and written forms, from both the Vice President for Safety and Reform and the Independent Monitor.

THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees endorses the University’s safety and reform agenda, including the commitment to enhanced training, inclusive excellence and independent monitoring, with the goal of establishing a robust and sustained culture of transparency, legitimacy, fairness, collaboration and innovation within the UCPD.