Obama: ‘Now is the moment’ for police to make changes

WASHINGTON >> President Barack Obama said Monday the deaths of unarmed black men in Missouri and New York show that law enforcement needs to change practices to build trust in minority communities, as a White House task force called for independent investigations when police use deadly force.

The president said last year’s deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York City exposed “deep rooted frustration in many communities of color around the need for fair and just law enforcement.” He said a policing task force that he appointed found it’s important for law enforcement to improve training, data collection and cooperation with the communities they cover.

“The moment is now for us to make these changes,” Obama said from the White House during a meeting with members of the task force, who worked for three months to develop the recommendations. “We have a great opportunity coming out of some great conflict and tragedy to really transform how we think about community law enforcement relations so that everybody feels safer and our law enforcement officers feel — rather than being embattled — feel fully supported. We need to seize that opportunity.”

The task force made 63 recommendations after holding seven public hearings across the country that included testimony from more than 100 people. The panel also met with leaders of groups advocating for the rights of blacks, Hispanics, Asians, veterans, gays, the disabled and others.

Obama said the task force found the need for more police training to reduce bias and help officers deal with stressful situations. He recognized a particularly controversial recommendation would be the need for independent investigations in fatal police shootings.

“The importance of making sure that there’s a sense of accountability when in fact law enforcement is involved in a deadly shooting is something that I think communities across the board are going to be considering,” Obama said.

Specifically, the task force recommended external independent criminal investigations and review by outside prosecutors when police use force that results in death or anyone dies in police custody, instead of the internal investigations that are the policy of some law enforcement agencies. The task force suggested either a multi-agency probe involving state and local investigators, referring an investigation to neighboring jurisdictions or the next higher level of government. “But in order to restore and maintain trust, this independence is crucial,” the report said.

Bill Johnson, the executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, said an outside investigation of a police-involved shooting may make sense in limited circumstances when a police department has few resources. But in the vast majority of cases, he said, it is unnecessary and perhaps even counterproductive.

“I think it helps to drive a wedge between a local police department and the community it serves, which is exactly contrary to what the intent of this police task force was supposed to be,” said Johnson, whose organization is an umbrella group of police unions. “I think it sends a message that your local police can’t be trusted.”

The task force echoed calls from officials including Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director James Comey for more complete record-keeping about the numbers of police-involved shootings across the country. Such data is currently reported by local law enforcement on a voluntary basis, and there is no central or reliable repository for those statistics.

“There’s no reason for us not to have this data available,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, a task force co-chair, who said he was surprised to learn that there were no reliable records kept. “Now that we know that this does not exist, it is our responsibility to do everything we can to develop that information.”

Ramsey also pointed out that the task force recommended decoupling immigration from local law enforcement to help improve police relationship with immigrant communities where residents may fear calling for help if they or someone in their family is in the country illegally. He said information on immigrant felons would remain available under the panel’s recommendations.

Obama earlier had called for Congress to help fund the purchase of 50,000 body cameras for police to wear and record their interactions with the public. But the task force found that the cameras raise extraordinarily complex legal and privacy issues.

“There’s been a lot of talk about body cameras as a silver bullet or a solution,” Obama said. “I think the task force concluded that there is a role for technology to play in building additional trust and accountability but it’s not a panacea. It has to be embedded in a broader change in culture and a legal framework that ensures that people’s privacy is respected.”

Laurie Robinson, a professor at George Mason University and co-chair of the task force, told reporters the type of community-police relations envisioned by the report does not happen quickly.

“It takes time, it takes relationship-building and it doesn’t happen overnight,” she said.

White House announces college-campus sexual assault awareness campaign

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden announced a sexual assault awareness campaign Friday that aims to promote bystander education on college campuses and engage more men in preventing sexual violence.

Components of the campaign, called “It’s On Us,” include tips on ending sexual assault and victim-blaming as well as an online pledge to not stand by in situations that may lead to sexual assault. Additionally, student leaders at college campuses nationwide, including UC Berkeley, and organizations such as the NCAA and Viacom have publicly partnered with the campaign.

“It’s On Us” represents an effort to facilitate change around the culture of sexual assault, according to UC Berkeley senior Sofie Karasek, a sexual assault survivor who co-founded End Rape on Campus, a survivor advocacy organization.

“They are intentionally trying to change the culture of men accepting that other men commit sexual violence,” Karasek said. “What’s different about this campaign is that it’s so much more comprehensive.”

The campaign utilizes a variety of social media to promote awareness: those who have taken the online pledge can change their Facebook profile pictures to support the campaign, and a public service announcement featuring celebrities was released Thursday. The NCAA plans to show the PSA at its championship events and publicize the campaign on social media.

The campaign’s focus on education signals a positive shift in treating sexual assault prevention as a collective effort, said Kevin Sabo, director of legislative affairs in the ASUC external affairs vice president’s office.

ASUC Student Advocate Rishi Ahuja called the campaign the “philosophical framework” of a new approach to sexual assault prevention.

Additionally, Ahuja, whose role on campus includes providing resources for sexual assault survivors, said the decision to target men was significant.

“When you’re trying to make a culture shift,” Ahuja said, “you have to utilize every mechanism you have to get the word out.”

UC Berkeley junior Meghan Warner, chair of the ASUC Sexual Assault Commission, lauded the campaign’s efforts to shift the dialogue from victim-blaming to a focus on active bystandership.

Although she said the ASUC will look to incorporate aspects and ideas of “It’s On Us,” focusing on the Cal Consent Campaign and other existing student activism on campus comes first.

“I am a very big proponent of student activism,” Warner said. “Not that there’s anything wrong with this campaign, but why would we take government activism when we already have this student activism that’s already in existence?”

According to UC spokesperson Brooke Converse, the university is still deciding how to engage in “It’s On Us” and integrate it alongside systemwide efforts such as UConsent, the University of California Student Association’s sexual assault awareness campaign.

Karasek applauded the campaign’s partnership with companies such as Electronic Arts, a video game developer that has made games such as the “Sims” and “Battlefield.” The company agreed to incorporate “It’s On Us” into the promotion of its brand, taking a step in reaching out to a male-dominated culture that might lack awareness of sexual assault, according to Karasek.

Along with the campaign announcement, a White House task force posted three documents on its website that provide sample language and recommendations for campus policy surrounding sexual assault.

The task force, created in January, released a report in April about ways for colleges and universities to respond to and reduce cases of sexual assault.

UC Berkeley, which is currently under investigation by the federal government for possible violations of federal law regarding the handling of sexual violence cases, is taking its own steps toward sexual assault awareness. The campus released a resource website for survivors in April and revamped sexual assault prevention training for incoming students.

At Wednesday’s UC Board of Regents meeting, Chancellor Nicholas Dirks announced that those who do not complete the mandatory orientation on sexual violence — numbering about 500 students — will have their registration blocked.

According to Ahuja, the ASUC Student Advocate’s Office just finished the hiring process for a confidential survivor advocate, who will help the campus coordinate a student-focused response to sexual assault.

Taking the conversation to the national level, though, ultimately leads to a greater scale of awareness, Sabo said.

“I’m excited that there’s now a national dialogue talking about what we can all do — not just women, but people of all gender identities,” Warner said.

Contact Katy Abbott at kabbott@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @katyeabbott.

via: http://www.dailycal.org/2014/09/19/white-house-announces-campus-sexual-assault-awareness-campaign/