HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CPB-1994-12-16 ' w
1751_771111
CITY OF ITHACA
COMMUNITY POLICE BOARD
PO BOX 6557
ITHACA, NEW YORK 14851-6557
MINUTES: Ithaca Community Police Board
PLACE: Second Floor Conference Room, City Hall
TIME & DATE: December 16, 1994 at 2:30 p.m.
PRESENT: Commissioners Sarachan, Seligmann, Teasley.
Chief McEwen, Deputy Chief Barnes.
Alderperson Shenk.
Rita Linger, Kirby Edmonds.
1 . Commissioner Seligmann called the meeting to order.
2. Approve Minutes of Meeting of November 18, 1994
by Commissioner Sarachan, seconded by Commissioner Teasley.
RESOLVED, That the minutes of the November 18, 1994 Community Police
Board Meeting be approved as published.
Carried Unanimously
3. Report from Common Council: Alderperson Shenk noted that the
proposed Nuisance Abatement Ordinance was voted down by Common
Council at their December meeting.
Alderperson Shenk reported on a meeting she attended with Lloyd Street,
John Caren from the Ithaca City School District and Sergeant Beau Saul
regarding putting together a grant for school community relations.
4. Comments from the Public: Rita Linger from the Community Dispute
Resolution Center was present to discuss the Police Community
Advocates program. She noted that the advocates are averaging one to
two cases a month. Chief McEwen was troubled by this as he knew
nothing about these cases. Discussion followed about cases that the
complainant's do not want to follow up on with a formal complaint with
the Community Police Board. Ms. Linger will continue to give the
Community Police Board monthly updates on the Police Community
Advocate's activities.
Community Police Board Meeting Minutes Page 2
December 16, 1994
5. Report of the Chief: Chief McEwen noted that his 1995 budget is finished
with a few minor changes to include the officers covered under the
federal grant.
Chief McEwen noted that he has hired Andrew Navarro as a new police
officer and he will begin on January 3, 1995.
Chief McEwen noted that he is starting interviews for a new dispatcher as
one of the current dispatchers left to take a patrol position at Ithaca
College.
Chief McEwen reported on the new electronic parking meters that are
being installed on Thurston Avenue. He noted that these meters are
computer controlled which will allow us to know what spaces are used
the most and for how long.
6. Comments from PBA President: PBA President Mike Gray was not present.
7. Old Business: Former Community Police Board member Kirby Edmonds
was present to discuss the status of the Training Committee (see attached
handout). He noted that they last met in July and at that time Captain
Haus was going to build a system around skills training. Mr. Edmonds
noted that this committee is comprised of one Community Police Board
member, the Ithaca Police Department training officer (Captain Haus),
one Police Benevolent Association representative and one civilian from
the community with appropriate training skills. Mr. Edmonds volunteered
to be this community person. The Community Police Board decided to
table their activity with the Committee until more members are
appointed, however, they agreed that the Committee could continue to
meet without a representative from the Community Police Board.
Commissioner Seligmann will pass this onto Captain Haus.
The Community Police Board reviewed and approved the draft liaison
letter (copy attached). The Community Police Board will finalize the
liaison list at their January meeting.
The Community Police Board will finalize their proposed by-laws at their
January meeting.
8. New Business: Commissioner Seligmann reminded the Community Police
Board that they need to vote on a Chair and Vice Chair for 1995 at their
January meeting.
9. Adjournment: The next meeting of the Community Police Board is
scheduled to be held on January 27, 1995 at 2:30 p.m. in the second floor
conference room of City Hall. The Community Police Board adjourned
into Executive Session at 4:02 p.m.
CPB/lac
attachments
January , 1995
Ms.
Dear :
The Community Police Board is a committee of seven civilians appointed by the
Mayor. We advise the Mayor and Common Council on ways to promote good relations
between the public and the police, advise the Police Chief about community concerns, meet
with community groups, investigate and monitor formal and informal complaints and review
the Police Department's annual budget and make recommendations to Common Council.
In an attempt to foster better communication between our Board and community
agencies, Commissioner ? has been assigned to act as liaison between your group and the
Community Police Board. Should you have any questions or need further information about
the Board, please contact Commissioner at ?
Sincerely,
Carol Seligmann
CS/lac
TO: Community Police Board
From: Kirby Edmonds
RE: Training Committee Update
DATE: December 16, 1994
Since the inception of the committee, there have been a total of
four meetings.
The chairperson is Captain Haus.
At this point the members of the committee include Captain Haus,
and Officer Hall (PBA President) .
The basic conclusion of the meetings thus far are as follows:
•the scope of the committee should be development of competencies
with the goal excellence -in the department's pursuit of its
policing mission.
•this includes but is not limited to training per se.
•the work of the committee under the leadership of the training
officer (Captain Haus) is to:
--identify and articulate the required/desired competencies
in the areas listed below,
--assist in developing a reliable assessment and
certification process in each of the areas, and
--identify needs for advanced competencies in each of the
listed areas.
--assist in developing a reliable process for developing
these competencies in the department.
Areas for desired/required competency include:
Skills Training (Basic, specialized)
Supervision
Use of Force
Special Populations
Community Awareness
Dynamics of Power
Stress Management
Handling. Situations Being Scrutinized by the Public
Role of Complaints
Immediate Tasks:
Captain Haus was last charged with polling officers informally to
determine their sense of priorities for training, as well as
developing an initial articulation of required and desired
skills.
He was to call another meeting when this task was completed.
Another particularly relevant concern raised through the course
of the meetings included developing a process of remedial skills
development separately from an overall training curriculum for
everyone.