Tucson Police Community Advisory Council
“The Tucson Police Department (TPD) is seeking applicants for a new Community Advisory Council. The Council’s mission will be to promote community involvement in shaping the policies and priorities of the TPD.
The TPD is committed to working closely with the people of Tucson to advance public safety and neighborhood wellbeing. The Community Advisory Council will assist the TPD in gathering public input on new policies or initiatives. It also will work directly with Tucson residents to identify, prioritize, and address ongoing community concerns. The Council will help ensure that members of the public have ongoing and meaningful input in how their communities are policed.
The Policing Project at New York University School of Law is assisting TPD with this project. The Policing Project is dedicated to promoting engagement between the police and the community, and finding a way for civilians to have a voice in policing.
About the Council
The mission of the Tucson Police-Community Advisory Council is to facilitate communication between the TPD and the communities it serves. The Council will assist the TPD in soliciting public feedback on Department policies and priorities. It also will work with Tucson residents to identify, prioritize, and address public safety issues or other on-going community concerns.
Who Can Apply to Join the Council?
Anyone who lives or works in Tucson can apply. The TPD is seeking applicants from a diverse group of backgrounds and experiences. The goal is to assemble a Council with the skills and commitment necessary to engage actively with Tucson’s many communities, facilitate conversations around policing and public safety, and make recommendations to the TPD.
The TPD believes that individuals who have faced arrests or convictions and taken significant steps toward rehabilitation bring an important perspective to the table, and are encouraged to apply.
What Will the Council Do?
The Council will be responsible for obtaining input from the community on issues of public safety, as well as TPD policies and priorities. The Council will:
- Serve as a liaison between the TPD and the diverse communities it serves;
- Hold public meetings to gather community input on TPD policies and programs, and make recommendations to the TPD;
- Assist the TPD in identifying issues of community concern and developing solutions to address them;
- Establish and maintain a dialogue with neighborhood-based organizations to identify and resolve barriers to engagement;
- Promote public awareness of the City’s police services and programs;
- Review and make recommendations concerning any other matters that may be referred to the Council, from time to time, by the Chief of Police.
How Will Members Be Selected?
The Council will have seven members. Members will be chosen by a selection committee made up of representatives from each of the following organizations:
- Border Action Network
- Pima County Public Defender
- Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation
- Tucson Chamber of Commerce
- Tucson Indian Center
- Tucson Urban League
- YWCA Tucson
The Tucson Chief of Police will participate informally in the selection.
How is the Policing Project involved?
The Policing Project at New York University School of Law is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening relationships between police departments and the communities they serve. The Policing Project has worked with police departments and communities across the country to develop different models for involving community members in formulating policies and priorities for policing. In Tucson, the Policing Project will assist the TPD with setting up the new Community Advisory Council and also will help staff the council in its first years to ensure it has the resources it needs.”
Applications: https://www.tucsonpolicecac.org/apply-now/. Deadline to apply is March 1, and applicants will be notified of results by April 15, 2017.
Why are police “advisory” councils always old geezers who always wanted to be cops themselves and want nothing more than to do ride-alongs and sign off on every gadget police chiefs want?
When are police departments going to be 100% accountable to citizens who have the right to make all police employees “at-will” employees and fire them for any reason, any time — including a chief? THAT would be an advisory council.
Well, based on what you said David, that is even more reason that younger, diverse people need to apply and serve. I think this is timely due to the altercation that happened between protestors and TPD officers at last Thursday’s protest of ICE at the old Federal Building downtown.