Mayor Rybak Backs Progress on Mediation Agreement
Police and Community Showing Significant Progress on Improved Relations
Sept. 12, 2007 (MINNEAPOLIS) – Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said today that he is pleased with the progress being made on the Federal Mediation Agreement on police conduct being implemented by the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and community leaders who comprise the Police Community Relations Council (PCRC).
“The progress being made by the PCRC is clear and it is solid,” Mayor Rybak said. “I am pleased that the community and police PCRC members are working together and I am confident that we will continue making progress on this important Agreement until every Action Item is satisfied. Building bridges between the MPD and the community is tough but important work, especially when we are addressing issues that had been simmering for decades.”
Mayor Rybak and other members of the City’s Executive Committee today received a report from the Commander of the MPD Mediation Compliance Unit, Lieutenant Lawrence C. Doyle, about progress made in the past year on 120 action items currently contained in the Agreement.
Lt. Doyle reported that the PCRC has worked on all of the 120 Action Items, and that 38 of the Action Items have been voted “green” status in the last year, meaning the PCRC members agree that those Action Items have been satisfied. Only 10 Action Items were voted “green” status from the time the Agreement was created through October 2006.
In the last year, the MPD has committed more than $750,000, including more than 245 staff hours, towards implementing the Mediation Agreement’s Action Items.
“The PCRC has established a clear process for monitoring and documenting work on these Action Items,” Police Chief Tim Dolan said. “The tracking and reporting system PCRC has in place provides the strong accountability needed to make this process valuable and meaningful.”
City and community representatives signed a Memorandum of Agreement in December 2003, which included a timeframe to address issues relating to the MPD and how it manages and conducts police business and interacts with the public. The Action Items in the Agreement address such issues as use-of-force policies and procedures, training, investigations, canine use, and public education and outreach. In many cases, the Agreement codifies reforms that the MPD had begun implementing.
For more information on the Mediation Agreement and its 120 Action Items, visit the MPD Mediation Compliance Unit website at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/about/mcu.
To view this news release online, visit www.mayorrybak.us.
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