COLUMBUS, Ohio — As leaders throughout the state address racial bias and work to improve community-police relations, the Ohio Mayors Alliance is creating a Police Reform Support Network.
Organizers say this joint effort will focus on turning ideas into action by supporting policy changes at the local level.
“Backed by a powerful national outcry, mayors across the country now have increased leverage to create meaningful change to policing practices,” said Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan, who was joined by Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, and Youngstown Mayor Tito Brown. “We have a duty to listen and be responsive to our citizens and also consider thoughtful reform recommendations and best practices from reputable sources. Now is the time to process these ideas and turn them into collective action.”
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said the network is intended to help cities do the difficult work of implementation.
“It will draw on best practices and research from around the country to help mayors, city councils and police departments understand what needs to be done to address the very real challenges of racial bias and the need to reform policing practices in communities across Ohio,” Ginther said.
The Ohio Mayors Alliance Police Reform Support Network lists the following areas of focus:
- Assess police reform policies in Ohio cities and nationally.
- Share best practices and policy standards within Ohio cities.
- Support local implementation by helping to navigate barriers to reform and bringing in resources to implement. It will start by focusing on limits on use of force, expanding body cameras, improving oversight, strengthening accountability, improving training and recruitment, and rethinking public safety more broadly.
“Cities and local police departments can’t solve these problems alone,” said Youngstown Mayor Tito Brown. “We need external support to help break down some of these barriers to reform that have existed for far too long.”
In addition to helping reform specific policing practices at the local level, the network will also look at systemic challenges to criminal justice and social service reforms, organizers said in a press release. It will also help local leaders think more broadly about community safety.
“It is truly a time to re-envision an effective law enforcement approach that ensures safety and just outcomes for members of our communities, particularly African Americans,” said Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.
The group is also working to "create opportunities to rethink how communities approach public safety through research, data and collaboration among the cities."
“What we are proposing is not another study group, it’s a working group that will have dedicated staff and a diverse array of network partners,” Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz. “Individual cities have unique challenges that they must address, but we need support to be successful, and that is exactly what this Police Reform Support Network is intended to do.”
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