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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSocial Justice Racial Equity Fourth Quarter Update for 2016 Date: January 19, 2017 To: Geoff Fruin From: Stefanie Bowers, Equity Director Re: Social Justice & Racial Equity Fourth Quarter Update for 2016 Attached please find the fourth quarter Social Justice & Racial Equity Update for 2016. We are transitioning the title from what was once referred to as the DIF (Diversity Implementation Form) to this to be more consistent with the Council’s seventh strategic goal “to advance social justice and racial equity.” Attached to the update is the fourth quarter update from the Police Department for 2016. Social Justice & Racial Equity FOURTH QUARTER UPDATE (October – December 2016) October 10, the City Manager, Interim Police Chief, Police Captain and Equity Director met with Dr. Nicole Novak, of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, to discuss her findings on a Community ID study. The study included surveying 51 Community ID users, 32 who have the Community ID as their only or primary ID. Nineteen-percent of the primary ID users had successfully used the Community ID to interact with police. Nobody reported having their Community ID rejected by the police. October 21, 24, 25, representatives from the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, the Johnson County Disproportionate Minority Contact Committee, Human Rights Commission, Community Police Review Board and New Creations International Church participated on the interview teams for the semi- finalist for the Police Chief position. November 15, the Council passed a resolution put forth by the Human Resources Administrator that amended the budgeted positions in the Police Department by temporarily adding two full-time police officer positions. The City had two vacant police officer openings due to retirements and had four seats in the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy to train officers. Three of the next four candidates on the rank and order certified civil service hiring list for the position of Police Officer were Black/African-American, which allowed the City to racially diversify its workforce. November 10, the City Attorney’s Office and Human Rights Office participated in a continuing legal education program at the University of Iowa Law School entitled “Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System: Challenges and Opportunities in Iowa.” The event was sponsored by the ACLU of Iowa and The Journal of Gender, Race & Justice. November 18, the Human Rights Office released its annual report on racial equity. The annual report provides data on the racial demographics of youth and adult interactions with the Iowa City Police Department, City board and commission members, and City staff. December 13, the Human Rights, Police, Neighborhood Services, Accounting, Transit and Human Resources Offices met to continue to review two current policies, procedures, programs or services, and one new proposal for each listed department using the socio-economic and racial review toolkit pilot. October 3, the Iowa City Police Department introduced a new outreach initiative entitled “Sit and Chat.” Sit and Chat is led by the Community Outreach Assistant for the Police Department who is available at the Police Substation at Pepperwood Plaza, Monday-Friday from 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. to meet and chat with community members. October 25, A “Lunch & Learn: Conversations on Diversity” for current board and commission members was held. University of Iowa College of Education Professor Katrina M. Sanders facilitated the discussion, which is designed to increase cultural competency by exploring race relations throughout American history. October and November, the Library hosted two “Great Stories Book Club” discussion groups at Elizabeth Tate Alternative High School. Books discussed were “Buck” by M.K. Asante and “Absolutely True Diary of a Part Tim Indian” by Sherman Alexie. November 4, Jason Sole presented “From Prison to PhD: A Journey of Pain, Promise, and Protest.” The presentation chronicled his growth from three-time convicted felon to keynote speaker and gang trainer. The event was held in Meeting Room A at the Iowa City Public Library, as part of the 2016 Witching Hour Festival. The Library co-sponsored the festival that ran from November 4- 5. November 9, the City Manager’s Roundtable was held with representatives from social justice and racial equity organizations including the Center for Worker Justice for Eastern Iowa, Black Voices Project, Coalition for Racial Justice, Community Police Review Board, Human Rights Commission, Johnson County Disproportionate Minority Contact Committee and New Creations International Church In attendance. The group discussed updates on the search for the next Police Chief, the advertising and marketing policies for vacant positions by the City, the Social Justice and Racial Equity Grant, and the new online submittal form for applying for City boards and commissions. November 15, a City Council “Listening Post” was held in the lobby of the Senior Center. The listening posts are attended by two council members at each event. Members of the community are encouraged to stop by and meet with council members to discuss community topics and concerns. November 16, the Human Rights Office presented at two of the University of Iowa’s Trio Student Support Services classrooms. The Trio program is comprised of third year college students, who are from low income families or are the first generation to attend college. The classrooms help prepare the students for the workforce. November 23, “Coffee with a Cop” was held at Bruegger’s on Riverside Drive. Residents are invited to join their neighbors, friends and co-workers to discuss community issues with neighborhood police officers. November 28, the Human Rights Office participated in a planning meeting for a conference being held in March 2017 entitled “The Future of Black Iowa.” The City of Iowa City is one of the co-sponsors of the conference. The conference is intended to be an annual event with different themes of focus each year. The focus for 2017 is health and education. Other sponsors include the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights and the Black Law Students Association. December 5, the City Manager and Equity Director attended a meeting to discuss next steps for diversity and inclusion in the corridor in light of Diversity Focus ceasing operations after 11 years. The meeting was organized by Mayor Ron Corbett of Cedar Rapids. Other participants included General Mills, ACT, University of Iowa, Rockwell Collins and the City of Cedar Rapids. The event was held at the Kirkwood Center for Lifelong Learning campus in Cedar Rapids. November 15, at the City Council meeting, Mayor Pro-Tem Botchway delivered a statement on behalf of the City Council in support of an inclusive community. November 17, the Mayor issued a statement supporting a diverse and safe community. November 21, Human Rights staff participated in the “Iowa City Area Immigration Law Practitioners, Advocates and Service Providers” meeting. The group formed in November 2016 and meets monthly to support Iowa City immigrant communities. | December 1, the Social Justice and Racial Equity Grant application form was released to the community. The grant is specifically designed to advance social justice and racial equity. The City Council approved $25,000 for fiscal year 2017. The grant has six priority service areas: education, building community, housing, criminal justice, health and employment. The Human Rights Commission will review applications and then forward recommendations to the City Council for final approval. Funding will be distributed by June 2017. December 6, the Council passed a resolution “Rejecting Intimidation and Supporting Safe Communities.” December 14, staff from the Human Rights Office and Neighborhood Services Department attended the Refugee Assistance Discussion for Johnson County. The meeting was held at the First Presbyterian Church. The meetings are a great opportunity for local advocates to network and share ideas for working together to better meet the needs of all community members. October 14, the Human Resources Department, with assistance from the Communications Office, completed a video on “Applying for City Employment.” The video explains the City’s job posting and hiring process. October 17, the Police Department’s Community Outreach Assistant began soliciting volunteers to team up with local youth for RAGBRAI 2017. The new program entitled “ICPD RAGBRAI” will join forces with the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County’s Youth Off Road Riders cycling club to send 5-6 youth to participate in the weeklong event. October 21, the Library co-sponsored a presentation on “Fields of Opportunity: Records of African American Excellence at the University of Iowa.” The program included authors who contributed to Michael and Lena Hill’s book “Invisible Hawkeyes” and another panel with reflections from former students about their experiences at the University of Iowa during the Civil Rights era. November 16, the Human Resources Department updated the language on the voluntary racial demographics survey used on the City’s employment application form. Editing the language to be more inclusive may encourage more applicants to respond to the voluntary survey so that the City is better able to track this data and to analyze recruitment efforts. December 7, the Iowa City Police Department visited with members of G! World at South East Junior High. The officers were invited to answer questions and provide feedback to the group of 7th and 8th grade female students. G! World is an award winning mentoring program aimed at empowering self-defined minority females ages 12-18. December 11, the Iowa City Police Department took local youth holiday shopping. Children were able to shop with a police officer for necessity items and gifts for themselves, as well as special gifts for family members. The event was organized as part of the annual “Shop with a Cop” program. December 13, the Human Resources Department sent out a mass email with a link to an online survey for community members and organizations to provide feedback on the City’s current policies for advertising and promoting vacant employment positions. December – the Library held four sessions with Iowa Workforce Development to assist displaced International Automotive Components (IAC) workers to create a resume to use in upcoming job searches. October 25, Human Rights staff participated in the Government Alliance on Racial Equity (GARE) workshop on “Applying the Racial Equity Tool.” November 15, Human Rights staff participated in the Multicultural Initiatives Panel Discussion facilitated by Dr. Sherry Watt, of the University of Iowa College of Education. The purpose of the panel was to speak with doctoral-level students to explore how to create transformative multicultural initiatives that can be implemented in the workplace or on college campuses. December 5, Human Rights staff participated in “Change is Hard – Building the Skills & Competencies Necessary to Improve Outcomes at Scale,” sponsored by the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and Strive Together. The program provided concrete examples of how communities have identified and expanded successes to improve outcomes. DIF Reporting for ICPD – 4th Quarter 2016 TO: Stefanie Bowers FROM: Acting Chief of Police Bill Campbell RE: DIF Reporting for ICPD – 4th Quarter 2016 DATE: January 18, 2017 ICPD’s DIF Reporting for the fourth quarter of 2016 is below. COMMUNITY OUTREACH: Documentation of participation in any event, attended or presented, by a Department member to a community member or organization. 36 ICPD Officers attended 297 events in the fourth quarter of 2016 totaling 476 hours and made contact with approximately 9,502 community members. On November 4, 2016, Iowa City Police Department Community Outreach Assistant Henri Harper was inducted into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame. The ceremony, which was held in Des Moines, Iowa, was attended by members of the Department and City Council. The ICPD was one of the sponsors of the event. On December 11, 2016, the Iowa City Police Department took local youth shopping for the holidays at the Iowa City Wal-Mart. The shoppers were pre-selected to participate and will shop with a police officer for necessity items and gifts for themselves, as well as special gifts for family members. This event is part of the Iowa City Police Association’s Shop with a Cop program. The children were able to shop due to the generous donations of area residents and businesses. Officers, their families, and civilian employees from the Iowa City Police Department, volunteer their time to shop and celebrate with the children on this special day. Durham School Services provided transportation for the event. Other highlights included “Coffee with a Cop” events, participation in a dodge ball tournament to benefit Special Olympics of Iowa, construction work on a Habitat for Humanity house on Prairie du Chien Road, City Manager’s Roundtable, and attendance at various school sporting events. COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS: Documentation of any participation in a community presentation by a Department member. 16 ICPD Officers participated in 59 community presentations in the fourth quarter of 2016, totaling 104 hours, and making contact with 2,793 community members. DIF Reporting for ICPD – 4th Quarter 2016 This quarter included many ALICE active shooter training sessions; a police K-9 presentation to elementary age children; a lab tour and presentation to a group of Kirkwood students on crime scene evidence collection and processing; ICPD Youth Academy presentations; a number of “What Police Do” sessions with preschoolers; a presentation on domestic violence to the Department of Corrections Women’s Iowa Domestic Abuse Program, and information provided at a Project Homeless Connect at the Iowa City Recreation Center. CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING: Documentation of any training received by a Department member involving cultural competency. Cultural competency training refers to training directed at the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures, ethnicity and socio-economic backgrounds. Three ICPD Officers attended a 40 hour training session in St. Louis, Missouri, to become certified as Crisis Intervention Team members. PUBLIC EDUCATION EFFORTS ON RIGHTS: Documentation of any participation at an event, attended or presented by a Department member, to a community member or organization where the focus is education on an individual’s rights. The Neighborhood Response Officer conducted 5 training sessions entitled, “Know the Law,” for 459 University of Iowa students. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: Documentation of any partnership between the Department and another community organization. The Department worked with community partners that led to attendance at 93 events by 15 officers who spent 119 hours with 1,286 community members. The Department continues to partner with entities such as The Dream Center, Broadway Neighborhood Center, DVIP, DMC, Diversity Roundtable and the Johnson County Attorney’s Office. These partnerships include:  Iowa City Downtown District – To champion the Iowa City Downtown District as a progressive, healthy, and culturally vibrant urban center of the region.  Local Homeless Coordinating Board – The Local Homeless Coordinating Board is a community collaboration dedicated to preventing homelessness in Johnson County, Iowa. The WET Shelter sub-committee has successfully implemented a second annual temporary shelter to provide an alternate housing option for the winter months. This alternate housing provides shelter for individuals who are intoxicated or are otherwise ineligible to receive housing at Shelter House. DIF Reporting for ICPD – 4th Quarter 2016  The Downtown Liaison continues to represent the Iowa City Police Department and participate in the White House’s Data-Driven Justice Initiative. This is a coalition of city, county, and state governments who have committed to using data-driven strategies to divert low-level offenders with mental illness out of the criminal justice system and change approaches to pre-trial incarceration.  The ICPD continues to collaborate with the Iowa City Bike Library to repurpose abandoned bicycles impounded by the Department. Instead of being auctioned or recycled as scrap metal, the Iowa City Bike Library refurbishes some of the bicycles which are then lent out through their organization. The remaining bicycles are collected by Working Bikes. Working Bikes is a non- profit that rescues discarded bicycles and gives them new life by redistributing them in global communities. During this quarter the Downtown Liaison worked with staff and the City Manager to begin the process of amending part of the City Code which covers impounded bicycles. The amendment will allow the police department and other City Staff to repurpose unclaimed bicycles for community outreach with disadvantaged youth and adults.  Johnson County Public Safety Leadership Academies, providing an avenue for area youth interested in searching the possibility to become a police officer/firefighter/medic in Johnson County via partnership with ICPD/ICFD/JCAS as well as the Iowa City Community School District, Boy/Girl Scouts, Dream Catchers, Diversity Focus. The Department also provided extra patrol on 1,007 occasions where criminal activity or safety concerns had been identified.