![]() ![]() For example, the report recommends “eliminating police response to the vast majority of mental health crises that do not involve deadly weapons or imminent risk of harm, following suit with other police departments across the country.”Īnother suggestion involves freezing the department’s training budget to assess training needs. ![]() The facilitators also shared police department data, with ideas for changing policies and practices. ![]() The report includes details about traumatic experiences of community members in local hospital settings and negative outcomes with the Vermont Department of Children and Families. The facilitators described what they heard from different racial groups, the LGBTQIA+ community, employees of local organizations and individuals who have experience in systems related to addiction, homelessness, mental health and poverty. Surveys, public forums and private listening sessions informed the process. More than 200 community members and about 25 organizations weighed in, according to the report. It also suggests committing to no more increases in police budgeting and reducing the size of the police for over time. The document advocates for greater accountability by reforming the Brattleboro Police Department’s complaint system, acknowledging systemic racism, strengthening support networks or structures, and looking at how to help meet people’s basic needs. Now available on, the final report will be discussed at Tuesday’s Select Board meeting. The Select Board then appointed a paid nine-member advisory committee for the project. ![]() In September, Megas-Russell and Witzberger were hired by the town as facilitators to take on the effort after a request for proposals went out at a time when residents were calling to “defund the police” or scrutinize the department’s budget in the wake of protests related to the killing of George Floyd at police hands in Minneapolis. “Our community eagerly awaits the opportunity to explore what is possible in our town, and to get to work making it happen in ways that honor and build on the legacy of this process.” “It would be a great disservice and cause further harm to those who so bravely and vulnerably shared their stories, many of which invoke deep pain, fear and trauma, for this review process not to materialize actual change,” Emily Megas-Russell and Shea Witzberger wrote in the 224-page document released Friday. BRATTLEBORO - A report that looks at safety, danger and harm within policing and community safety systems urges action on a variety of measures. ![]()
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