City seeks input on police-community relations for Equity Audit

By Press release submission

Mar 14, 2022

City of Battle Creek issued the following announcement on Mar 11.

The city encourages neighbors to give feedback about interactions with the Battle Creek Police Department, as part of Phase 2 in our Equity Audit.

The Equity Audit, managed by consulting firm MGT, will assess ways we can make sure our workforce better represents the community, improve human resources and police policies and practices to make sure they are inclusive and equitable, and evaluate relations between the BCPD and community.

We need your feedback and suggestions about how our current way of doing things helps or limits your interactions with police.

There are multiple ways to participate, and your individual information is confidential. Your comments will inform the overall study of the police-community relations issue, and MGT will use them only for the Equity Audit.

Email your comments to battlecreek@mgtconsulting.com.
Leave a voicemail at 989-260-6330.
Attend one of these meetings. The two virtual meetings will stream live to the city’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/cityofbattlecreekmichigan.
1. Virtual meeting – Wednesday, March 16, 6-8 p.m.
  
  Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84144362639?pwd=eDA4T0g0dFo4aTFKTzhwSG5yZkkvZz09
  
  *Will have Burmese interpretation*
2. Virtual meeting – Tuesday, March 22, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
  
  Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81626433752?pwd=T2lVTkllU1RMaTc0NkNndWFnSlVSUT09
  
  *Will have Spanish interpretation*
3. In-person meeting – Thursday, March 24, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
  
  Kool Family Community Center, 200 W. Michigan Ave.
4. In-person meeting – Thursday, March 24, 6-8 p.m.
  
  Kool Family Community Center, 200 W. Michigan Ave.
  
  *Will have American Sign Language interpretation*

City leaders will give a brief introduction, then MGT will lead the meetings from there. They welcome an input and discussion, and will start the conversation with these planned questions to the community:

Which community activities and engagement from the BCPD have you found impactful? How could the BCPD improve its outreach to the community?
In what ways do you think the BCPD could be more transparent with the community?
What recommendations do you have to improve police-community relations in Battle Creek?
How can the BCPD improve engagement and interactions specifically with young people in the community?
Which news source(s) do you use to learn about BCPD activities? Are there other ways you would like the BCPD to share information and activities?

Thank you for your participation in this important conversation.

BCPD feedback meeting event flyer

Original source can be found here.