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GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: Strengthen police-community ties: Prevent profiling By Virginia Camberos and Kay Brooks MailTribune.com By Virginia Camberos and Kay Brooks Posted Nov. 17, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Virginia Camberos and Kay Brooks Posted Nov. 17, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> An African-American professional woman who was driving her 8-year-old son to school before work was stopped by a police officer who claimed that he could see that the registration sticker on her license plate was out of date. When that proved to be untrue, he unsuccessfully tried to find some other pretext to cite her, and eventually let her go. Her son wanted to know why a police officer would do that. A Hispanic man was approached by a police officer while sitting in a parked car, told to kneel down on the ground, kicked in the back, and charged with drunken driving, even though a breathalyzer test showed no alcohol consumption at all. Months later, the charges were dropped. An Asian man who makes his living harvesting mushrooms for export to Japanese restaurants was stopped repeatedly by state police because he “did not look like he lived around here.” A Hispanic mother of five pleaded with police to investigate death threats against her son but could get no action. These cases of police profiling may sound like they must have happened in Ferguson, Mo., or Cleveland, or New York City, but actually they happened here in Southern Oregon. At a public meeting in Medford earlier this month, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum heard from these local residents and many others about police officers who treated community members differently because of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, homelessness, mental illness or other factors. The attorney general explained that a new Oregon law passed in the last session of the Legislature is designed to help state and local law enforcement agencies and local residents to identify and prevent profiling practices. The lawmakers directed a task force headed by Rosenblum to prepare a report by Dec. 1 with recommendations for implementing specific reforms. The task force includes representatives of police, sheriffs, prosecutors, defense and civil liberties lawyers, and the Center for Intercultural Organizing. Rosenblum said the task force is dealing with a number of topics. First, data needs to be collected on police interactions with the public so it is possible to identify problem areas for improvement. Some law enforcement agencies dismiss the topic by asserting that none of their officers engage in profiling, but without data it is difficult to evaluate that claim or fix problems that do exist. We need to be able to analyze patterns in who was stopped, what they were charged with, and how their cases were eventually resolved. Second, the task force is studying established best practices for training officers to avoid profiling. Third, the group is looking at how other states hold officers or law enforcement agencies accountable when they fail to prevent profiling. As a part of that, the state will establish a complaint procedure that is not limited to complaining to the same agency that committed profiling in the first place. By Jan. 1, 2016, all law enforcement agencies in Oregon will be required to have policies in place to prevent and correct profiling. The statewide associations of police chiefs and sheriffs are working to develop model policies that local agencies could adopt. How those model policies and the task force’s report are shaped and then acted on will help determine whether real progress is made in the state in the coming years. Community groups like ours will be meeting with each local agency to ask about their new policies. This statewide effort at reform comes at a time of real opportunity in the Rogue Valley. Jackson County has a new sheriff who has already started implementing training to prevent profiling. Medford and Talent are both looking for new police chiefs and should make a commitment to prevent profiling part of their criteria. Ashland has a new chief with a strong record in this area. Attorney General Rosenblum made the point that preventing profiling is essential for strengthening ties between police and the communities they serve. Police cannot be effective if community members are afraid to come forward with information or concerns. As one resident told the attorney general, “We support good law enforcement. But in every kind of work there are always people who are out of line. We need the changes you talked about — identifying where the problems are, providing good training, and doing something about it when someone goes off the rails.” If you have concerns about profiling you want passed on to the attorney general’s task force, contact [email protected] or call Virginia Camberos at 541-499-0626 (se habla Espanol). Virginia Camberos of Talent is Program Coordinator of the Northwest Forest Worker Center. Kay Brooks of Medford is a board member of Oregon Action. By Virginia Camberos and Kay Brooks MailTribune.com By Virginia Camberos and Kay Brooks Posted Nov. 17, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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