A resident-led task force has been created to review and make recommendations about law enforcement in Bloomington and Monroe County, according to a press release from the City of Bloomington Tuesday.
The Future of Policing Task Force will work to make policing “inclusive of diverse community voices” and “equitable in its implementation of policies and procedures regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity, economic, health or housing status” while providing protection for residents, visitors and law enforcement officers.
The task force will evaluate the policies, practices and protocols of local law enforcement agencies using focus groups, surveys and other tools to find the best practices in policing, according to the release.
The Future of Policing Task Force is a community-based collaborative effort to address systemic racism and other forms of discrimination in Bloomington, according to the release. This is part of greater city’s efforts to reduce racial inequities as outlined in Mayor John Hamilton’s Recover Forward Initiative.
Members of the task force include Carolyn Calloway, Kevin Farris, A’ame Joslin, Treon McClendon, Malik McCloskey, Amy Makice, David Norris, James Sanders, Jim Sims and Garfield Warren.
The group will meet for the first time this month and will offer reports to the community within 90 and 180 days. Within a year, the task force will present a report to community leaders, the City’s Board of Public Safety and law enforcement agencies with recommendations to fix inequities described in the report. The report will also be available for public review and comment.
