Westland Police Department shares crime stats to the public online
WESTLAND, Mich. – In a time where people across the country are asking for transparency from their police departments, Westland Police Department’s efforts include a police community transparency dashboard. Tickets, arrests and complaints of excessive use of force by the police are all broken down by number, race and gender. View here: Westland PD Community Dashboard“This is something that the public has been asking for a long time,” said Westland police Lt. Robert Wilkie. How those statistics trend can also be useful for the department internally. Related: Westland man says he was charged for an armed robbery he didn’t commitRelated: New website featuring Livonia Police Department policies, data launched after groups call for transparency
Western Wayne County leaders, citizens discuss police training, reform
WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. Tuesday afternoon, there was an open dialogue discussion between several city leaders as well as police officers and the minorities that live in their communities. Those are bad people that should not be police officers, said Westland Police Chief Jeff Jedrusik. Dearborns police department along with over a dozen others in the Western Wayne conference that will be undergoing special training to make sure there is no bias when it comes to making an arrest. But know this, theres also hurt, anger and disgust by law enforcement officers towards the officers involved," Jedrusik said. Were talking about the bad officers, said Westland City Councilwoman, Tasha Green.
Policing alternative: What a community-led public safety system might look like
So now you must be wondering what the U.S. would look like without its traditional policing system: Heres what some researchers and advocates are proposing as an alternative. Community-led safety initiativesAdvocates believe that a new approach to public safety is necessary to ensure the safety of all American lives -- especially Black Americans who are disproportionately arrested, sentenced and killed by police around the country. There has been significant research conducted on potential community-based public safety systems as alternatives to traditional policing for years. It is important not to confuse a community-led public safety initiative with community-oriented policing, as these two practices are actually quite different. The reimagined public safety system is designed to exist apart from the traditional policing system, while community-oriented policing is a practice that works in tandem with traditional policing.