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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-07-14-FHC-min.pdf ( Fair Housing Committee Minutes, 7/14/93 Present Gerri Weathers, Chairman; Florence Baturin; Mary Haskell; Nicole T Herrmann; Leona Martin; Bob Pressman; Chris Casey, Acting Chief of Police; Steve Baran, Fair Housing Director (recorder) Absent Jim Brannon; Peter Brown; Marion Kilson; Oscar Liu; Jolley Anne Weinstock Minutes of 7/14/93 The Minutes of 7/14/93 were approved Strategic Planning Julia Novak had advised the Committee to get in touch with Jay Kaufman in order to discuss its participation in strategic planning Florence Baturin volunteered to contact Mr Kaufman Chris Casey, Acting Chief of Police Acting Chief Casey explained activity to counter harassment and domestic violence including formulation of policies and training of officers ( He responded to various interests of the Committee as follows 1 Diversity training costs Costs of training are high Leaving aside the payment of trainers, costs for overtime would be around $10, 000 The Committee will be provided with more precise figures 2 Reputation of the Department Responding to the comment that the Department had a reputation of being "zealous" in its treatment of young people, Chief Casey suggested that young people might be naturally inclined to view police as a group as being zealous As to a similar reaction from minorities (e g , stopping people of color, taking people out of their homes, following black people) , he noted that Lexington residents had been jittery because of murders by solicitors in nearby towns Moreover, the police responded to reports by citizens of "suspicious behavior" leading to driving through an area The police could not, however, stop or interrogate without cause Acting Chief Casey thought his staff might need reinforcement of "how to talk to people, " recognizing at the (._ Fair Housing Minutes, 7/14/93 Page 2 same time that different policemen had different levels of maturity, as well as training on what should and should not be classified as suspicious, a function at times of the degree of specificity of the complaint made in the first place Police officers are occasionally caught in the middle of situations where they are taken to task for either not doing enough or doing too much Brief encounters with police officers often are the basis for creating lasting impressions In the final analysis, there should be an expectation that the police will be able to make citizens, particularly minorities, "feel comfortable" about them 3 Recruitment Chief Casey was asked what could be done to increase diversity through recruitment to the Police Department He replied that while there was a requirement that police officers be recruited from a list, there was also the potential of recruiting among officers who were being laid off or transferred in other cities and town ( 4 Diversity training Diversity training for new police officers involves learning how to handle oneself "no matter what the group " Training is supervised by the Massachusetts Training Council and includes content on diversity 5 Creating change Creating change can best be fostered by the example set by the Chief The Chief sets the tone by acting as a role model Chief Casey has had numerous associations with African Americans while growing up, has been a METCO parent for five years, intends to pursue a policy of collaboration and communication Committee members were pleased by the Chief's open manner and his desire to communicate It was decided to seek greater clarity around how affirmative recruitment was being carried out (key to having a diverse Department and community) as well as what kind of diversity training is conducted at the State level (by calling Bill Johnson) Forthcoming meeting with the Selectmen Steve will send draft charge and material on hate crimes to the Selectmen in advance of their August 16th meeting when the Fair Housing Committee will meet with them for thirty minutes L Fair Housing Minutes, 7/14/93 Page 3 Met State Planner Joan Blaustein is no longer involved with Met State planning (her grant ran out) The Committee will send Bill Holden a copy of the need statement Fair Housing Plan and Charge The Committee reviewed and made corrections to the drafts of the Fair Housing Plan and Charge Policies to promote housing diversity The Committee will send letters to the Lexington Housing Authority, the Executive Office of Communities and Development and HUD requesting policies on selection and placement of tenants from their waiting lists L.