A.
The Board will make recommendations to the Chief of the Police Department
on trainings and create clusters of trainings that are recommended
for all officers.
B.
The Board will review and provide feedback on different trainings
at the request of the Chief.
C.
The Board will identify funding sources, such as grants, that can
be applied for to cover training costs.
D.
The Board will advocate to the Township Committee for the allocation
of funds for approved training programs.
E.
If a significant number of complaints are made regarding a practice
which the Department has been trained on, the Board will recommend
additional trainings or seeking out a new trainer.
F.
In reviewing collected data, the Board may make recommendations regarding
trainings to prevent further issues with the community in the future.
G.
The Board, after reporting publicly to the Township Committee, may
publicize to the community its recommendations for departmental training,
as a whole, and specialized trainings, such as management trainings.
H.
The Board can recommend training on a range of topics, and topics
should include, but are not limited to, addressing racial bias, addressing
LGBTQ bias, de-escalating those suffering in a mental health crisis,
substance abuse, use of force, etc.
I.
The Board will work with the Police Chief, the Township Administrator,
and the Township Committee to determine barriers stopping the implementation
of a specific recommendation to the Maplewood Police Department.
The Board will create a process to formally and publicly recognize
the Department for the number of officers who have completed additional
trainings mentioned by the Board. This recognition is noted to be
outside of the scope of any workplace commendations.
The Board will act as ambassadors to the community to explain
the complaint and complaint resolution process. The Board will also
publicize methods to reduce crime and increase public safety. The
Board will educate the community about appropriate calls to the police
and calls that are not police matters.
The Board shall recommend "best practices" adopted in other
municipalities and to assist the Chief in determining whether those
best practices can and should be adopted for Maplewood. The Board
will work with the Police Chief, the Township Administrator, and the
Township Committee to determine barriers stopping the implementation
of a specific "best practices" recommendation to the Department. The
Board will produce a report for the Chief, Business Administrator,
and Township Committee once a year highlighting where possible evidenced-based
practices and where not-yet-identified best practices from a variety
of established sources, including public policy journals and journals
of policing.
A.
The Board has the authority to request data that will improve police
community relations and policing in the Township. That data will include,
but is not limited to:
(1)
The number of traffic stops, the race of those stopped, the number
of pedestrian stops, the race of those stopped, incident reports,
the number of emotionally disturbed person complaints responded to,
the number of ICE detainers received and the response to them, the
number of complaints against officers received and status of such
complaints, the number of calls received and nature of calls to all
schools in the district, as well as any general crime statistics normally
released to the community and the Township.
(2)
For any specifically requested incident report via standard OPRA
request process, the Board can review video (including from body cameras,
dash cameras, and public safety cameras) and audio and written documentations
and hold voluntary meetings with the community and officers. When
an incident report is requested, the Board may obtain information
on the status of any incident report. Whereas numerous complaints
are automatically deferred to the Essex County Prosecutor, the Board
may request updates of the Maplewood Police Department as to the status
of the OPRA request so as to determine when information will be available
to them.
(3)
All names, addresses, telephone numbers, ID numbers, license numbers,
badge numbers, information on minors must be appropriately redacted
before being sent to the Board. Information regarding an incident
report must be sent via Township e-mail or other secure server, as
determined by the Township. No information regarding an incident report
will be sent via personal e-mail or on unsecured servers. All members
of the Board agree to adhere to the confidentiality practices outlined
by the Township. Board members who violate this will be subject to
expulsion from the Board. The Board will comply with the current Attorney
General Guidelines and current collective bargaining agreement and
all other current laws and policies governing public safety matters.
(4)
The Board will not engage in individual personnel matters with respect
to any member of the Maplewood Police Department.
B.
The Board, along with the Township Committee and Chief of Police,
will identify key areas of improvement, promote the development of
new, nondiscriminatory approaches to policing, and work together with
the Police Department to track reductions in discrimination.
C.
The Board shall advise the Police Department and Township Committee
on the establishment/improvement of a data collection system.
D.
Once an established data tracking system is created, the Board shall
use the data as part of a comprehensive system of trend analysis,
in which the Board and the Police Department use the data to monitor
the patterns of the Department.
E.
The Board is required to provide a comprehensive review of the data
collected. The Board will present the review in a periodic summary
of the findings as well as recommendations to the Chief of Police,
the Business Administrator, the Mayor, and the Township Committee.
F.
The Board will annually compile a comprehensive report on its activities.
The Board's annual report shall be submitted to the Chief of Police,
the Mayor, and the Township Committee.
