PHOENIX — Phoenix residents can make their voices heard at a virtual meeting Thursday night on ten police reform ideas before they are finalized and implemented.
The draft reforms are being presented by Phoenix's review and implementation ad hoc committee.
Mayor Kate Gallego created the committee last summer, appointing 19 people including two city council members, former police officers, community leaders, and anti-police brutality activists.
The group poured over five Phoenix policing reform reports, which the city received over the past 10 years. However, many of their proposals were never implemented, and the committee was tasked to see which of these old ideas should be made new again.
The committee settled on 10 reform measures, which could improve transparency, efficiency, and community relations.
One idea is to rewrite Phoenix's use of force rules for officers to emphasize sanctity of life. Another is keeping better data, including demographic info about every traffic stop, to track trends and identify disparities. A third involves a multimillion-dollar investment to connect people with mental health or treatment needs to community crisis services that do not involve the police.
The City of Phoenix is hosting a virtual public meeting Thursday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. where the public can listen and comment on each idea before it's finalized.
For details on how to log on and register to make comments go to https://www.phoenix.gov/police/transparency
