ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Statewide
UIA worked to win a statewide $3 million increase in Shannon Anti-Gang funding over multiple years, benefitting local programs that work to support youth in their schools and homes and throughout the community and a $2 million increase in Safe and Successful Youth Initiative funding from $8 to $10 million.

We also partnered with our MCAN network to help win statewide police reform with committees on Beacon Hill enacting reforms in the following areas: limiting qualified immunity, use-of-force standards, ending racial profiling, eliminating mandated School Resource Officers (SROs), limiting facial recognition technology, and POST (Police Officer Standards, Training) a civilian-led panel overseeing training, certification. State legislators also approved the FY22 Budget with increases in programs UIA advocated for such as the Shannon Anti-Gang Youth Outreach Program and Justice Re-Investment, funding community re-entry services and support for those formerly incarcerated.

To learn more about our local organizing to advocate for statewide reform in Fall/Winter 2020, click here.

Locally
UIA researched and helped support the launch of The HUB, a multi-sector and stakeholder network of crisis intervention and community support in New Bedford and Fall River and we are a part of the newly formed NBPD Chief’s Advisory Council, an advisory committee on public safety.

UIA also served as part of the Mayor's New Bedford Use of Force Review Commission and on the NBPS Committee to review the School Resource Officer program for 2020-2021.

During the Fall and Winter of 2020, UIA partnered with the NAACP New Bedford Branch for police reform and racial equity action meetings with the Mayors and Police Chiefs of New Bedford & Fall River with these areas of action: a)Office of Diversity, Equal Opportunity, b)civilian review board, c)alternate civilian complaints beyond PD, d)transparent complaint data, e)officer diversity, f)review of use of force policies, g)culture-shift training (anti-bias, de-escalation), h)SRO Program evaluation, i)community peacekeeping programs, j)community budgeting.

2021 Fall River Updates: At UIA’s Community Meeting on Police Reform and Racial Equity, the Mayor and Police Chief agreed to the following commitments: to form the Mayor’s Committee on Diversity (begun in 2021), to create an alternative officer-complaint process (FRPD establishing a complaint process online and UIA offering community input on its development), to increase officer diversity (FRPD developing a community Cadet Program to enhance diversity), to explore a Civilian Review Board (UIA leaders, along with the Fall River Mayor and Police Chief met with Stephanie Everett, Director of Boston’s newly formed Office of Police Accountability and Transparency), to develop cultural-shift training (FRPD developing racial awareness training & launched Spanish language training Spring 2021), and to re-engage the HUB multi-sector crisis intervention team in the City.

 2021 New Bedford Updates: At UIA’s Community Meeting on Police Reform and Racial Equity, the Mayor and Police Chief agreed to the following commitments: to further develop alternative officer-complaint processes (through an online process and at designated community locations), to work toward complaint data transparency (data posted on the City’s website of type of complaint, frequency, and outcomes), to increase officer diversity (through the Cadet Program and Civil Service waiver process), to create a Use of Force Commission (formed in Fall 2020 with UIA on Commission, and City adopted all recommendations to Use of Force changes such as training in de-escalation, bias, cultural and mental health awareness; requiring officer duty to intervene and report; yearly public report of Use of Force instances, and ending the High Energy Patrol program), to offer cultural-shift-training (begun de-escalation training 2021), to commit to an SRO evaluation with NBPS (UIA was on evaluation committee 2020-2021); and to enhance community peace-keeping models (exploring unarmed, crisis response team for behavioral health calls). 

Links: SouthCoast Faith Leaders statement
Press:
NAACP, Interfaith Group Members share experiences with area police
Interfaith group hosting meeting with mayor, police chief on racial justice in policing