Amherst Hosts Public Forums on Public Safety Experiences and Police Oversight

Source: amhestma.gov

Amherst’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Department will host listening sessions on January 10, 18, and 21, to hear about residents’ experiences with the Amherst Police.  These sessions grow out of the previous work of the town’s Community Safety Working Group (CSWG) and the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC).  Both the CSWG and the CSSJC recommended the formation of a Resident Oversight Board (ROB) for the Amherst Police Department.  These listening sessions represent foundational steps toward the formation of a Resident Oversight Board.

Pamela Nolan Young, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Town of Amherst stresses the importance of hearing from a variety of residents. She said, “The National Association for Civilian Oversight for Law Enforcement’s (NACOLE)  research indicates that robust community participation is critical to the success of a Resident Oversight Board (ROB); I strongly encourage all community members to participate in this process by attending a forum and or completing a survey.” According to NACOLE, “a Resident Oversight Board can provide a meaningful, independent, community driven, iterative process that provides transparency and demonstrates an invest in the community that is beneficial to community members and law enforcement.”   For more information on NACLOE’s research visit https://www.nacole.org/

Individuals of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to attend.  Each session will be held in-person and via Zoom from the Town Room (second floor) of Town Hall (4 Boltwood Avenue).  Translation services for Chinese and Spanish speakers will be offered at the January 10 event only.  This hybrid set-up (attendance in-person or via Zoom) allows individuals to share their experiences in written and/or in verbal form. 

All three January events will be hosted by Rabbi Debra Kolodny, a consultant who is also an Amherst Resident. Kolodny brings over thirty years of consulting experience in the fields of: conflict transformation, workplace democracy, strategic planning, anti-hate work, restorative justice, racial justice, community data collection, and DEI.

Kolodny spent years working in Portland, Oregon on issues of police accountability.  They were a participant in a clergy group that regularly met with police leadership and the mayor to review community issues. Kolodny was also a founding member of Portland United Against Hate, a coalition of BIPOC, LGBTQI+ and religious minorities, that acted as an advocacy and trauma informed care group.  They worked tirelessly to combat and prevent hate-related incidents in the shared Community. Portland United Against Hate cataloged acts of police violence and lobbied City Council and the State Legislature to require accountability for these police actions.    

Kolodny, who moved to Amherst with their partner in 2021, said “I am committed to honoring the work done by the CSWG and the CSSJC. I look forward to meeting new people and hearing about their interactions with the police, so we can continue to improve public safety here.”

The first-person narratives and public feedback will be gathered during January 2024.  The next steps toward forming an ROB include:

1. Completion of public forums and preparation of an advisory report by Kolodny to be shared with the Town Manager
   
2. Hiring of a consultant to work in collaboration with town staff, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with the advice from other town officials to develop board policies, procedures, and forms.
   
3. Select, appoint, and train the first ROB members (The estimated date for the ROB activation is: July 1, 2024).

For the forum location/times and for a link to the survey go to: https://www.amherstma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=3472