“The People’s Report … Not a Typical Commission Report
First and foremost, this is the “people’s report.” What do
we mean by that?
Our primary audience for this report is the people of the St. Louis region. The report is directed to the average citizens whose daily lives are aected by the issues we
explored, and whose lives will be impacted by the calls to action we make. With that in mind, we have written this report to speak to an audience of average citizens— not lawyers, legislators, academics, politicians, or policy wonks.
We’ve written this report in plain language as much as possible. We’ve avoided jargon when we could, and tried to explain the jargon we used when we couldn’t avoid it. Our goal is to present this important information in a way that anyone can understand.”
Continue reading:
Forward Through Ferguson: A Path Toward Racial Equity – The Ferguson Commission Report by nextSTL.com
From Forward Through Ferguson: A Path Toward Racial Equity:
Calls to Action: Justice for All
1. Authorizing Appropriate Use of Force
Update Use of Force Statute for Fleeing Suspects
Revise Use of Force Policies and Training
Prioritize De-Escalation and Tactical Withdrawal
Establish Use of Force Database
Minimize Use of Militarized Weaponry
2. Conducting Just Use of Force Investigations
Assign Attorney General As Special Prosecutor in Use of Force Cases
Appoint Special Prosecutor in Use of Force Cases Short-Term
Assign Missouri Highway Patrol to Investigate Use of Force
Create Task Forces for Short-Term Investigation of Use of Force
3. Encouraging Appropriate Use of Technology in Citizen-Law Enforcement Interactions
Pass the Protecting Communities and Police Act
Develop Policies for Use of Technology to Serve Special Needs and Disabled Populations
Use Technology to Limit Use of Force
Ensure Adequate Bandwidth for Use of Technology
Fund Technology Storage
Engage Community Advisory Boards for Technology Policy
Evaluate Effectiveness of Technology
Create Technology Clearinghouse
Clarify Public Record Laws
4. Encourage Efficiency and Transparency Through Robust Administrative Standards and Record Keeping
Fund Existing and New Laws
Formalize and Standardize Court Documenting Procedures
Clearly Define Municipal Court Procedures
Eliminate Sharing of Municipal Files
Conduct Annual Municipal Court Audits
Ensure Staffing of Annual Court Audits
5. Expanding Civilian Oversight
Create Civilian Review Boards at the Municipal Level
Create Civilian Review Boards at the County Level
Handle Serious Incidents Swiftly, Openly, and Neutrally
6. Facilitating Efficiency Through Consolidation of Police Departments
Consolidate Law Enforcement Agencies
Evaluate Consolidated Departments
Hold Non-Consolidated Agencies to Shared Standards
Consolidate Dispatch Centers
7. Improving Efficiency and Effectiveness Through Consolidation
Consolidate Municipal Courts
8. Improving Officer Training
Consolidate Police Training Centers
Increase Funding and Support for Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)
Increase Police Training Hours
9. Increasing Awareness of Rights and Procedures
Create a Municipal Courts “Bill of Rights”
Communicate Rights to Defendants in Person
Provide Defendants with Clear Written Notice of Court Hearing Details
Open Municipal Court Sessions
Inform Defendants of Right to Counsel
Assign Public Defenders for Criminally-Charged Minors
10. Preventing Conflicts of Interest
Prevent Conflicts of Interest Among Judges
Prevent Conflicts of Interest Among Prosecutors
Apply Conflict-of-Interest Rules Universally
Prevent Targeting and Collusion in the Municipal Governance System
11. Promoting Officer Wellness
Conduct Peer Review of Critical Incidents
Provide Mental Health Services for Officers
Support Officer Well-Being
Require Psychological and Bias Screenings
12. Protecting Constitutional Rights Through Effectively Administered Courts
Notify Parents of Detained Minors
Change Rules for Municipalities Holding Defendants for Other Municipalities
Provide Medical Services for People in Custody
Eliminate Punitive Impounding of Vehicles
Train Municipal Court, Jail, and City Government Employees in Constitutional Rights
13. Re-envisioning the Law Enforcement Response to Demonstration
Develop a Comprehensive Demonstration Response Plan
Establish Communication Protocol for Demonstrations
Train for Incidents Requiring Multiple Law Enforcement Agencies
14. Redefining the Municipal Court Response to Nonviolent Offenses
Eliminate Incarceration for Minor Offenses
Treat Nonviolent Offenses as Civil Violations
Close Records of Non-Violent Offenses by Minors
Expunge Old Convictions of Non-Repeat Offenders
Cancel “Failure to Appear” Warrants
Develop New Process to Review and Cancel Outstanding Warrants
Schedule Regular Warrant Reviews
Collect Municipal Court Debts Like Civil Debts
Determine Defendants’ Ability to Pay
Assess Ability to Pay at Nonpayment Hearings
Consider Payment Plans and Fine Revocation
15. Restoring Civilian Law Enforcement Relations Through Community Policing
Facilitate More Positive Police-Community Interactions
Engage Civilians in Police Operations
Foster Police-Community Interactions in Schools
Seek Civilian Input on Police Programs and Policies
Engage Youth in Joint Training
Reform Juvenile Disciplinary Procedures and Practices
Adopt Alternative Strategies for Juvenile Interventions
Foster Positive, Proactive Police Interactions with Youth
Build Trust Among Youth
16. Stengthening Anti-Bias and Cultural Competency
Train Police to Better Engage Citizens
Include New Approaches in Anti-Bias Training for Police
Include Social Interaction Training in Police Officer Standards and Training (POST)
Enact Officer Identification Policies
Prohibit Profiling and Discrimination
Include Implicit Bias and Cultural
Responsiveness Training in Police Officer Standards and Training (POST)
Establish Search and Seizure Procedures for LGBTQ Populations
17. Utilizing Community-Based Alternatives to Traditional Sentencing
Create Community Justice Centers
Provide Municipal Court Support Services
Establish Alternative Sentencing Options
Calls to Action: Youth at the Center
18. Building Safe and Trauma-Informed Environments
Deliver Trauma-Informed Care
Build Safe Neighborhoods
End Shame and Stigma
19. Ending Childhood Hunger
End hunger for children and families
20. Enhancing Support Services’ Ability to Support Youth
Review the Missouri Family Support Division
Adopt a Self-Sufficiency Model
Create a Discounted Youth Transit Pass
Encourage Paid Time Off for Volunteering
21. Enhancing College Access and Affordability
Expand the Access Missouri Program
Review All State Scholarship Programs
Support Post-Secondary Access for DACA Students
22. Fostering Innovation and Organizational Capacity
Create the Spirit of Missouri Fund
Create an Innovative Education Hub
Fund Organizational Capacity and Client Outcomes
Create an Education Design and Financing Task Force
23. Increasing Access to Care for Children
Increase Health Insurance Coverage and Access
Establish School-Based Health Centers & Trauma-Informed Schools
24. Monitoring Child Well-Being
Create School-Based Early Warning Systems
Coordinate Support Efforts
Measure Child Well-Being
Create Annual Reporting Process
25. Optimizing School and Accreditation and Transfers
Identify Convenient Transfer Schools
Hold Schools Accepting Transfer Students Accountable
Adopt the Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation (VICC) Calculation
Limit Criteria for Denial of Transfers
Amend Role of Assistance Teams
Negotiate Reasonable and Equitable Transfer Rates
Revise School Accreditation System
26. Provide Quality Early Childhood Education
Support Early Childhood Education
27. Providing Rigorous Primary and Secondary Education
Ensure Equitable Access to Rigorous High School Courses
Ensure College Counseling for All High School Students
Develop School Leader and Teacher Support Infrastructure
28. Reforming School-Base Discipline
Reform School Discipline Policies
29. Supporting Career Readiness
Expand Internship and Apprenticeship Opportunities
Calls to Action: Opportunity to Thrive
30. Bolster Employer-Educator Collaboration
Enhance Collaboration Between Educational Institutions and Employers
Ensure Employer-Educator Collaborations Build a Love of Learning
Support Federal “Gainful Employment” Regulations
Expand Funding for Public Colleges that Serve Disadvantaged Students
31. Building Equity Through Enhanced Access to Banking
Strengthen the Community Reinvestment Act
Embed Public Banking Models into Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)
Build the Capacity of CDFIs
Invest in High Functioning CDFIs
Concentrate Financial Services through Empowerment Sites
32. Ending Poverty
Raise the Minimum Wage
End Predatory Lending
Implement Earned Income and Child Tax Credits
33. Enhancing Access to Transportation
Develop a State Supported Funding Plan for Public Transit
Identify Priority Transportation Projects for the St. Louis Region
Promote Use of Public Transit
34. Increasing Access to Care
Expand Medicaid Eligibility
Provide Gap Coverage
Increase ACA Marketplace Enrollment
35. Ensuring Communities’ Ability to Advocate for Equity
Protect Rights of Local Government
Protect the Rights of Workers to Organize
36. Ensuring Robust Minority Participation in the Job Market
Implement a Statewide M/WBE (Minority/Women’s Business Enterprises) Program
Launch an Employer Grading System for Economic Mobility
Develop and Implement an Economic Inclusion Infrastructure
37. Prioritizing Youth-Focused Job Creation and Training
Prioritize Tax Incentives for Youth-Serving Job Programs
Evaluate Job Training Success and Award Funding Accordingly
Build a Poverty-to-Professional Model for Youth Serving Organizations
38. Promote Asset Building
Create Universal Child Development Accounts
Raise Awareness of Development Accounts
Encourage Savings With Tax-Refund Matching
Teach Financial Literacy to Section 8 Housing Beneficiaries
Create Individual and Family Development Accounts
39. Realigning Incentives and Funding to Improve Job Training and Creation
Implement a State Section 3 Hiring Program
Launch Best Practice-Driven Job Training Programs
Assess Tax Incentives to Ensure that They Serve the Intended Population
Create Pathways for Lower Skilled Employees
Expand Funding for Job Training and Wage Support Programs
Modify Procurements Systems to Encourage Hiring of Targeted Employees
Preferentially Fund Job Training Programs that Show Impact
Implement Work-Based Learning Opportunities
Identify Job Training Best Practices
Calls to Action: Racial Equity
40. Fostering Racial Equity
Broadly Apply a Racial Equity Framework
Create a 25-year Managed Fund
Utilize Shared Guidelines
Ensure Language Access
Create Region-wide Benchmarking Process
Establish Regional Baselines
Disaggregate Data
Create a Rating System
Provide Trauma-Informed & Anti-Bias Training for Media
Train Moderators
Engage the Faith Community in the Racial Equity Mission
Create a Clearinghouse
Support and Encourage Creative Spaces
Create Incentive Programs
Design an Accreditation System
Create Neutral Space
