DAYTON, Ohio — Six weeks ago, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley announced the city’s plan to establish five working groups to reshape and reform the Dayton Police Department.
The announcement was met with skepticism and criticism from the Dayton community but just this week, these groups have started to meet.
“I think we’re here to address a deficit of trust that exists between Dayton residents and Dayton Police,” Whaley said.
As initial meetings get underway, Whaley is very clear about the purpose that lies ahead for the Dayton Police Reform Working Groups.
“The people that are committed to this, over 100 folks, are really committed to see change and that’s what we’re trying to get done,” she said.
Five groups, led by City Commissioners, are tasked with reforming the Dayton Police Department. Here are the five areas of reform from the City of Dayton’s website:
- Oversight: Increase transparency in the process to report suspected police misconduct and strengthen the Citizen Appeal Board made up of community members. Co-leads: Commissioner Matt Joseph and Montgomery County Recorder Brandon McClain.
- Use of force: Assess all recent incidences in which force was used by Dayton police to look for patterns and biases, which will inform a review of use of force policies. Co-leads: Commissioner Jeffrey J. Mims, Jr. and Willis Blackshear, Jr.
- Training: Continue implicit bias and de-escalation trainings for all Dayton police officers. Co-leads: Commissioner Darryl Fairchild and Stacy Benson-Taylor.
- Recruitment and promotion: Review police recruitment, oversight, and selection processes to better identify any potential issues in new officers and increase diversity in the force. Co-leads: Mayor Nan Whaley and Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Gerald Parker.
- Engagement: Continue to deepen community engagement by rank and file officers to strengthen relationships with the people they serve and protect. Co-leads: Commissioner Chris Shaw and Shannon Isom.
Mayor Whaley is a co-lead in the recruitment reform group, and said one of their main goals recruit more African-Americans and women to become officers.
Data from the Dayton Police Department shows that 335 of its 369 officers are white (90.7 percent) and only 43 of their officers are women (11.6 percent).
“I think recruitment is one of the toughest issues, because people have been working on it for 50 years and have failed,” Whaley said. “There’s just been no success in it. That’s going to be a challenge, and it’s going to be difficult and necessary but I think we can get it done.”
With the creation of these groups and their lofty goals, there has been a lot of skepticism that these groups can work.
Will Smith is one of the volunteers in the training work group. He said change can’t happen without transparency.
“There’s also going to be a need for our community to members to understand what’s going on if we really want to have a level of transparency that we need to have to make sure that this work actually results in real change for the real people in our community,” Smith said. “To make sure our communities are safer and healthier.”
Whaley said it’s OK for people to be skeptical, but she wants citizens of Dayton to know these groups are dedicated to the task at hand.
“We’re never going to please everybody in the city of Dayton, because everybody has such a diverse view of ideas about police,” Whaley said. “But I think there is a North Star about building away from the deficit of trust between the police department and the community, which is really important. And making sure our police are transparent and accountable.”
The groups will meet and prepare plans for reform over the next six to nine months. Whaley said it’s a lengthy process, but one they want to get right.
“We think this is an important enough issue that we do it in concert with the community,” she said. “And that’s what these working groups are about.”
