Community Police Reform Initiative Meeting
Esteemed Tuxedo Residents,
My name is Ken English and I am the Town of Tuxedo Supervisor. I’m writing to announce the Tuxedo Town Board’s effort to respond to the Governor's directive to develop a collaborative vision for community policing. I’m organizing a series of Web based meetings to bring together a diverse group to dialogue about how our community responds to policing and public safety concerns.
The August 2020 publication of the “NYS Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative - Resources for Public Officials and Citizens” will form the foundational framework for our organization of this effort. It poses critical questions and provides useful information and discussion points.
Please check out Part 2, “Developing Your Collaborative Plan”, beginning on page 109.
https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/Police_Reform_Workbook81720.pdf
Town Board members have been studying the state plan over the last few months and will launch our participatory effort on Thursday, January 14th, at 5:00pm. This meeting is accessible through the Town’s WebEx portal
https://www.tuxedogov.org/webex-virtual-meetings
Or by dial in access - 408-418-9388 Access Code: 796 956 205
To preregister for this event and to receive an updated agenda prior to our meeting please email Shari Brooks at Sbrooks@tuxedogov.org with your contact information or call her at
(845) 351-4411 extension #5.
Additionally, our Town Board meetings, held virtually on the second and fourth Monday evening of each month, will include a continuing agenda for organizing and engaging key stakeholders around this topic.
It’s my hope that as the Corona pandemic begins to subside we can eventually resume in-person meetings that will help foster the respectful and open dialogue that’s essential to this initiative. The Governor has set an April deadline for this effort to convene. This is meant to ensure timely action but these issues will require a permanent commitment to sincere reflection that leads to positive action. A sustained engagement that builds off the nationwide marches that were inspired by the many tragedies of injustice and violence will be necessary to foster real change in America. This requires a collaborative community response that is not limited to the notion of police reform. We all must be willing to reflect, talk openly, identify and remove policies that contribute to our problems, and recognize that justice for all and a sense that we’re in this together are the ideals that bind us and make us Americans.
I hope that you will consider joining this discussion.
Respectfully,
Ken English
Town of Tuxedo Supervisor
(845) 351-4411 extension 5