Meetings and hate speak
08/26/2003
I headed off after work to a hearing at the Police department last night, it was for the accreditation for CALEA, the professional standards organization. I was encouraged to speak at the meeting regarding my experiences as a civilian volunteering and working with the department. In light of my recent experience with our new commander aside, (those problems are being addressed). I went to the meeting to speak highly of the department.
I was frustrated to find this open meeting turned into a hate filled racially motivated police bashing session. I choose my words carefully as I spoke about my experience with the department. I followed a gentleman who’s view of the department was a full 180 degrees from mine.
When it was my turn to speak, I indicated that those who chose to be involved could begin on a neighborhood level. The information shared by the neighborhood groups with the police do uncover crime trends and allow the officers to work on issues directly impacting the citizens. I also mentioned that the department was embracing the evolution of technology. I explained that when there was information to share that it could be disseminated quickly in a matter of hours. I used the example of the car burglars that went back the next day to rob the houses using the stolen garage door openers. This information was shared during one of neighborhood meeting and once the notice was posted to our neighborhood news wires it spread to the citizens in a matter of hours. The information was picked up by other neighborhood news groups and went out to thousands of citizens. The sharing of information allowed to police to significantly reduce this crime trend in a matter of days. I also told the members of CALEA of the space we allot for our district representative in our neighborhood news paper that goes out quarterly. That this was an invaluable asset to the community. I mentioned the Neighborhood resource guide that allow us to contact the appropriate departments for non threatening issues such as graffiti, zoning and trash.
I listened to a lot of angry citizens that feel that the Austin Police Department is a racially divided department. They were indicating the African Americans were treated differently than other races. They focused on the fact that 3 African Americans were killed by the police in the past few years. The speakers continually brought up the role of the Police Monitors department not being allowed access to information. They sighted a report that was just released by the monitors office saying the department was not co-operating with there investigations. The monitors office accused the department of blocking there access to internal records.
I listened to a man that was angry he was not allowed to apply for a position as a peace officer due to a felony differed adjudication on his record. He felt the department had differing standards for hiring offices. I heard testimony of video tapes of officers wearing “I support Bush “ stickers on there handcuffs when arresting anti war protesters.
My experiences are quite different from the other speakers in the room but I can tell you, I am glad I live in Austin. I am glad I feel safe enough to walk down the street to the store late in the evening. I am glad we do not have the problems of the large east coast cities. I am proud of the department, and I am glad each and every day that the major crimes are almost non existent here. I remember leaving CT when the paper had a head stone on the top right corner to count the number of murders that year.
