Community town hall on policing in Nevada City theunion.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theunion.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Pauli Halstead and Lorraine Reich | Other Voices
In 2016-17, the Nevada County Civil Grand Jury researched the expanding topic of audiovisual technology and inquired into the efforts of local law enforcement agencies to provide more transparency and public safety by recording their field activities using body-worn cameras.
Given the two shooting incidents in the past year resulting in death, in which sheriff’s deputies did not have body cams, the Community Oversight Task Force began an inquiry as to why not.
As reported by the Grand Jury: “The Grand Jury believes the information on this subject is sufficient to proceed. The advantages of body-worn cameras outweigh the concerns and even the associated costs. The Nevada County Civil Grand Jury calls upon the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, the city/town councils of Grass Valley, Nevada City and Truckee, and the police and sheriff’s departments of Nevada County to actively promote full deployment of body-worn cameras.”
Lorraine Reich and Pauli Halstead | Other Voices
The use of deadly force by police officers, particularly against the mentally ill and people of color, has given rise to federal HR 7120, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. It is estimated that people with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during a law enforcement encounter.
In California, these statistics of police shootings were the impetus for the state Legislature to pass SB 230 (Govt. Code 7286), a comprehensive bill calling for updating use-of-force policies.
Nationwide, training law enforcement in the recognition of mental illness, addiction and homelessness and appropriate use of force is an ongoing focus by communities willing to re-imagine law enforcement roles and budgets.