Newton Police Reform Task Force To Release Recommendations Soon

NEWTON, MA — After seven months of meetings and research and interviews, the Newton Police Reform Task Force is set to release its final recommendations to address the future of policing in the city by the end of February.

"The Newton Reform Task Force has provided very good ideas in their draft. Some initiatives we are already working on, others we will lean into and set into motion in the coming weeks and months, and a few will take more time to study, better understand and fund," Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said in a statement. "Virtually all the proposed changes will take a partnership with the Newton Police unions to move forward."

Last week, the task force presented city officials with a preview of its recommendations, including refining the scope of the force — such as taking a new approach to crisis situations and non-police responses to things such as leaf blower violators; working on improving relationships between the force and community; and stepping up cultural competency training for police and first responders with vulnerable populations to address bias and structural and systemic racism. They also said the city would do well to consider leaving the civil service system to work toward racial ethnic and gender diversity among police leadership.

The task force also recommended having a group that would have "advanced training for dispatch to appropriately triage social service, including behavioral/mental health, calls [and] a regional network of mobile clinical staff and medical first responders able to initiate contact, assess, de-escalate, and provide transport for people who are intoxicated, mentally ill or require a means of connecting with a range of other social services."

Fuller formed the Task Force last July in the midst of the city’s reckoning with systematic racism after the killing of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer and the deaths of other Black men and women. She selected and tasked 12 members with undertaking a holistic assessment of the Newton Police Department and making recommendations on policies, procedures, practices and the overall strategic direction for policing in the city.

Over the past seven months, the Task Force heard from community members and members of the Newton Police Department and listened to stakeholders and experts in the fields of racial justice and policing.

"We want to better train our officers in anti-bias and anti-racist practices, mental health crisis intervention and community policing," Fuller said. "We want the makeup of our department to better reflect the diversity of our community, and to continue to build trust and respect between our residents, our elected officials and our officers."

Sonja Spears, who chairs the task force, said when the group discusses systematic racism, they are not singling out the Newton Police Department, but acknowledging the way the systems of advantage, based on race, still impact individuals across the country, including in Newton.

The group plans to recommend facilitating a culture change within the police department focused on cultivating its customer service orientation, reinforcing a “guardian mindset,” improving procedural justice and problem-oriented policing to improve bias-free policing and supporting mutual accountability, according to the mayor.

The Task Force is also recommending renovation on the police headquarters complex in West Newton Square.

Fuller said she planned to put a new headquarters on the city's Capital Improvement Plan, even as the city funds repairs and upgrades in the existing headquarters.

As the Newton Police Reform Task Force undertook their assessment, a second, internal group of members of the Newton Police Department worked in parallel to propose changes.

Both sets of these recommendations are coming forward just as the city is looking to hire a new police chief.

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.