Akron Police Department Reform survey available through February 1

An Akron Police Department Reform Survey is available at the Akron Village Hall and online on the Akron Bugle Facebook page and this link through February 1.

The survey is part of the Akron Police Department’s response to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s directive to each police department to develop a policing reform plan by April 1, 2021.  The Executive Order authorizes the Director of the Division of the Budget to condition State aid to localities on the adoption of such a plan.

“With more than 500 law enforcement agencies in our large and diverse state, there is no “one size fits all” solution. To rebuild the police-community relationship, each local government must convene stakeholders for a fact-based and honest dialogue about the public safety needs of their community,” Cuomo stated.  “Each community must envision for itself the appropriate role of the police. Policies must be developed to allow the police to do their jobs to protect the public and these policies must meet with the local communities’ acceptance.”

Cuomo called for police departments to “• Review the needs of the community served by its police agency, and evaluate the department’s current policies and practices; • Establish policies that allow police to effectively and safely perform their duties; • Involve the entire community in the discussion; • Develop policy recommendations resulting from this review; • Offer a plan for public comment; • Present the plan to the local legislative body to ratify or adopt it, and; • Certify adoption of the plan to the State Budget Director on or before April 1, 2021.

Akron Police Department is hoping community members will answer the survey to help them develop a good plan for the Village of Akron.

The questions are:

What services does your local police department provide that are beneficial to the community?

What police services do you feel should be provided to the community, but are not currently?

What police services are currently being offered that you feel are not beneficial to the community?

What are the 2-3 top issues that are necessary to improve policing in our community?

What does equality and social justice in regards to local law enforcement in our community mean to you?

What does transparency and accountability in regards to local law enforcement in our community mean to you?

Deadline for all survey responses is February 1, 2021.