Statement of the Maplewood Township Committee
November 4, 2015
Public safety is the number one priority
of the Maplewood Township Committee. We salute the men and women of the Maplewood
Police Department for their hard work and dedication to our community, and for
upholding the highest standards in their interactions with all residents in our
community. We fully support the mission of the Maplewood Police Department “to
serve and safeguard all persons within the Township in a fair, safe,
professional and considerate manner.” We applaud the Department’s commitment
“to prevent, identify and suppress criminal activity…while ensuring that the
rights of all citizens are recognized, respected and preserved.”
We also know these are difficult times
and there are serious questions about race, inequality and fairness within the
nation's criminal justice system. A July 2015 New York Times/CBS News poll
found that “most Americans think race relations are generally bad and blacks
hold a particularly negative view of the nation’s racial climate.” The poll
also found that “while most Blacks say the police in their communities make
them feel safe, blacks are more than twice as likely as whites to say the
police make them feel mostly anxious.” Additionally, “blacks are eight times as
likely as whites to say they have been stopped by the police because of their
race, and almost two-thirds of black men report having been racially profiled
by the police.” "Black lives matter" has become the rallying call in
protest of the fatal shootings of black men by police officers in Ferguson,
Baltimore, North Charleston , Cleveland and other communities.
As leaders of a diverse and inclusive
community that seeks to build trust among all its members, we are deeply
concerned about the growing divide on race in our society. Most white and black
Americans are isolated from one another in everyday life. Of the 6,000 hate
crimes reported in 2013, nearly one-half were based on race and 79 percent of racial
hate crimes were against people of color. Median household wealth for whites in
2014 was $142,000 and only $11,000 for blacks. Life expectancy rates for blacks continue to
lag behind whites and infant mortality rates are higher in black communities.
The Township of Maplewood will join with
other levels of government, community groups, religious leaders and others to
discuss racial equity, employ best practices and put forth proposals that help address
these divisions.
· We support President Obama’s call for more community
conversations across the nation about structural racism and inherent bias.
On
the local level:
· Funding is provided to the Community Coalition on Race
to build a more cohesive and intentionally integrated community.
· The Clergy Alliance was formed by the Police Chief to
create stronger bonds between key religious leaders in the community and the
Police Department.
· The Maplewood Community Action Program was established
to regularly bring together neighborhood leaders from across town to interact
with Township representatives and share information about activities in their
different neighborhoods.
· Our police department sponsors teen activities to help
strengthen the relationship between young people and police officers.
· Our police officers regularly attend diversity
training classes to increase their capacity to interact with a diverse group of
stakeholders.
· We seek to expand volunteer and paid employment
opportunities for people of color and women.
· Racial and gender diversity are considered when making
appointments to Township Boards and Committee to ensure broad representation.
· Targeted outreach efforts are undertaken to recruit a
robust pool of candidates of color as police officers.
· New businesses are encouraged to make employment
opportunities available to local residents.
· We support national and state initiatives that will
provide additional tools to help the Maplewood Police Department continue to
uphold their high standards in their interactions with all residents of our
community.
o
We favor passage
of NJ Assembly Bill 4343/Senate Bill 2888 which requires all county and
municipal police departments to “develop and adopt cultural diversity training
courses that includes instruction and exercises designed to focus on the needs
of the racial, ethnic and religious communities within each department’s
respective jurisdiction.”
o
We support
federal and state programs that will fund the purchase of body cameras for
police officers.
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