City Of Syracuse Releases Draft Of Police Reform And Reinvention Plan

Press release from the City of Syracuse:

January 28 2021

The City of Syracuse today released its draft Police Reform and Reinvention Plan in response to Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order 203 issued regarding the New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. The draft plan is available for download and public comment at http://bit.ly/syrpolicereformdraft.

As stipulated by the Governor’s order, communities across New York State are required to prepare a plan in response to the Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. The plans must be offered for public comment and adopted by the legislatures of each municipality.

The 76-page draft document provides answers to specific questions posed by the State and lays out 27 initiatives and actions to continue progress on police reform and police-community relations. The actions cover transparency and accountability, community engagement, policies and procedures, diversity in hiring and advancement, alternatives to policing and training and wellness. The document includes a more than 100-page appendix of reference documents, including several SPD current and draft policies on issues of interest to the public, such as the draft use of force policy, the draft body-worn camera policy, and the policies on bias-related incidents and interactions with transgender* individuals.

The City participated in the Onondaga County Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative along with other municipalities in the County. City representatives contributed to the work of five sub-committees. Input for the draft plan was gathered from the work of these sub-committees, as well as from online public forums hosted for City residents by the Collaborative. Additionally, the City conducted meetings to gather input from a variety of community stakeholders, including Access CNY, Southside TNT, La Liga (Spanish Action League), the Westside Service Providers, Neighborhood Watch, members of the New American Community, and youth groups including The Good Life Youth Foundation.

The City of Syracuse draft plan also builds upon prior public engagement on policing in the City of Syracuse; Mayor Walsh’s 16-Action Executive Order on Syracuse Police Reform last June; actions taken by the Syracuse Common Council on police transparency; as well as the City’s response to demands by community stakeholders last summer.

Chief Buckner discussed the draft plan with the Syracuse Common Council Public Safety Committee at its regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 27. The Public Safety Committee indicated it will conduct additional committee meetings and provide an opportunity for public input. Information on participating in Council meetings can be found at www.syrgov.net in the Calendar of Events and Public Meetings. To comply with the Governor’s order, a final plan must be adopted by the Council before April 1, 2021.

This press release was produced by the City of Syracuse. The views expressed here are the author’s own.