The Village of Mahomet moved forward a Guiding Statement on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion during the Feb. 16 board meeting.
Mayor Sean Widener opened the discussion over the statement saying it’s “a good transparent way of just basically putting on paper what we’re thinking and what we want accomplished.”
In 2018, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP) and the Illinois NAACP State Conference announced a resolution, the Shared Principles Agreement, designed to bridge the gap of mistrust between police and communities of color.
The conversations between the two entities, which began in 2014, four months after unrest erupted in Ferguson, Missouri when Michael Brown was fatally shot by police. The ILACP decided to be proactive and sent a letter to the NAACP State Conference president, requesting a private meeting for a candid conversation.
After eight joint gatherings across the state of Illinois involving hundreds of leaders from law enforcement and communities of color, 10 shared principles were identified:
- Value the life of every person, the preservation of life being the highest value
- Recognize that all persons should be treated with dignity and respect
- Reject discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, color, nationality, immigrant status, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or familial status
- Endorse the six pillars of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing including the first pillar of building trust and legitimacy
- Endorse the four pillars of procedural justice, which are fairness, voice, transparency and impartiality
- Endorse the values inherent in community policing, which includes positive engagement between community and police
- Develop relationships at the leadership and street levels to eliminate racial tension
- Accept mutual responsibility to encourage all citizens to gain a better understanding of the law to assist in interactions with police
- Increase diversity in police departments and in the law enforcement profession
- Commit to de-escalation training to ensure the safety of community members and police officers
The measure was built on the foundation of replacing mistrust with mutual trust wherever, whenever and however possible.
The Mahomet Police Department alongside the Village Board developed their own statement, to guide all Village employess, based on the principles that the ILACP and NAACP State Conference established.
In a statement signed by the board, they wrote: “Our small bedroom community has been growing steadily since the 1980s whereas we have established ourselves as a destination for families seeking an excellent education, businesses desiring to succeed and visitors wanting to take in the natural beauty of Mahomet. We are becoming a more diverse community, one that must be welcoming to all and encourages diversity.”
The statement reads:
“We condemn all forms of racism in our community. While we cannot change our nation’s history of racism, we can commit to addressing the inequalities that exist today. We can commit to moving forward and growing together as one unified community.
As community leaders we must step up to take the lead in building and strengthening relationships between our police and village departments with the people we serve to address racial inequities.
Listen & Public Engagement – In countless cities all over the country, the frustration heard from communities of color is that their voices are silenced, and that leaders often try to make policy solutions without engaging in meaningful dialogue around the issue. Now more than ever, this is important because our residents have a lot to say and great ideas for addressing these complex issues in our community.
• We will observe, listen and collaborate with community leaders and identify the challenges that face our community.
• Actively listen to and seek clarity for issues that are revealed to us with a commitment to respond in a timely and positively effective manner.
Building Trust – The employees of the Village of Mahomet and the men and women of law enforcement live and work amongst us. They are moms and dads, neighbors and friends, coaches and mentors. When there is trust, we can be effective stewards of our community.
• Our Police will continue to be a resource within our schools and build relationships with our community’s youth.
• Engage and participate in community events or service-driven initiatives on a regular basis.
Provide Training – Training can and should be implemented for all of our employees to understand and recognize explicit and implicit bias and de-escalate crisis moments.
• All Village of Mahomet employees will complete diversity and inclusion training.
• Provide other continuing education opportunities for all employees and recognize the importance of a well-trained workforce
Transparency and Accountability – Enhancements to the principles of policing and public safety cannot be achieved unless the public can see what is happening and recognize when we are, or perhaps are not meeting expectations. To ensure transparency and accountability where the law permits, we shall:
• Engage in community outreach activities that will solicit feedback from the public on policing and public safety practices.
• Provide regular reporting of policing activities within our community within the limits of the law.
Role of Police and Public Safety – Law enforcement is assigned to protect our community and more than often they are the first to be called when there is an issue within our community. The police deal with a wide range of challenges from domestic violence to mental health. This “catch all” duty is our primary challenge to defining the role of police and public safety. Therefore, we shall:
• Continue to fund our police department and consider additional strategies that may better serve our community’s needs.
• Continue to seek out proper resources to assist our police in their duties to serve and protect our residents.
• Support state mandated training opportunities and police officer wellness programs.
• Prioritize state mandated conflict resolution and de-escalation training to reduce potential for confrontation.
Ten Shared Principles – The Village of Mahomet and our Police Department affirms and supports the Ten Shared Principles as adopted jointly on March 22, 2018 by the Illinois NAACP State Conference and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. These principles seek to improve the relationships between law enforcement and residents of minority communities throughout Illinois:
• We value the life of every person and consider life to be the highest value.
• All persons should be treated with dignity and respect. This is another foundational value.
• We reject discrimination toward any person that is based on race, ethnicity, religion, color, nationality, immigrant status, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or familial status.
• We endorse the six pillars in the report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The first pillar is to build and rebuild trust through procedural justice, transparency, accountability, and honest recognition of past and present obstacles.
• We endorse the four pillars of procedural justice, which are fairness, voice (i.e., an opportunity for citizens and police to believe they are heard), transparency, and impartiality.
• We endorse the values inherent in community policing, which includes community partnerships involving law enforcement, engagement of police officers with residents outside of interaction specific to enforcement of laws, and problem solving that is collaborative, not one-sided.
• We believe that developing strong ongoing relationships between law enforcement and communities of color at the leadership level and street level will be the keys to diminishing and eliminating racial tension.
• We believe that law enforcement and community leaders have a mutual responsibility to encourage all citizens to gain a better understanding and knowledge of the law to assist them in their interactions with law enforcement officers.
• We support diversity in police departments and in the law enforcement profession. Law enforcement and communities have a mutual responsibility and should work together to make a concerted effort to recruit diverse police departments.
• We believe de-escalation training should be required to ensure the safety of community members and officers. We endorse using de-escalation tactics to reduce the potential for confrontations that endanger law enforcement officers and community members; and the principle that human life should be taken only as a last resort.
We recognize that these are the first steps in a long journey. We as elected officials, police officers, public employees, community leaders and residents, will walk together on this journey.”
Police Chief Mike Metzler said that the department has steadily trained and operated on the principles of community policing, including implicit bias training and de-escalation for years.
Village administrator Patrick Brown read a statement from consultant Adi Puckett who said she felt there was an “obvious authenticity in the acknowledgments, and dedication to the resolutions” after reading the statement.
The statement was moved to the regular agenda for Feb. 23 to give time for the board and community to give input.
