Safety & Equity Task Force

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Safety & Equity Task Force

The Safety & Equity Task Force was created to research and develop a set of recommendations to inform the creation of a community safety and equity board. The final report (below) recommended the creation of a "Community Police Advisory Review Board."
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Charge: The Safety and Equity Taskforce shall develop recommendations for the name, scope, structure, membership and responsibilities of a community safety and equity board. Areas of focus will include the following: 1. Recommendations on police department training and community collaboration efforts 2. Review of complaints against the BPD 3. Development and review of proposed critical Bennington Police Department policies and procedures 4. Analysis of safety and equity data.

The work of the Community Safety and Equity Board will be to ensure safety, accountability, transparency, and trust in the community and to move Bennington toward achieving its vision of becoming “a welcoming, engaged, inclusive, and resilient community where everyone, regardless of identity, shares in our vitality and benefits from an outstanding quality of life”.

The task force submitted the final report of recommendations to the Select Board on January 31, 2022. The report has been released to the public on February 7, and the public comment period was from February 7 to March 7, 2022.  With input from comments, town lawyers, and staff, a final draft of the resolution was presented and approved at the April 11, 2022 Select Board meeting.

Public Presentation

There was a presentation by the Safety and Equity Task Force to the Select Board and the public on February 21, 2022. The presentation was held at the Multi-Purpose room located on the third floor of the Firehouse at 130 River Street. The presentation began at 6:00 pm.

Presentation Materials


On March 14, 2022, at the Select Board meeting, the board will discuss the report and the results of the public comments. A board vote on the recommendations is expected at the following Select Board meeting on March 28, 2022.

We recognize and appreciate and value the work of the ten members who worked on the task force and we thank them for their time and effort in the service of our community.


FINAL FILES

Safety and Equity Task Force Final Report (CLICK HERE)



PAST MEETINGS:

Prior Meeting Minutes, Agendas, and Materials
Minutes, Agendas, and materials from Prior meetings can be found by clicking here.


Task Force Members

  • Clark Adams
  • Ben Cassavaugh
  • Co-Chair – Margae Diamond
  • Co-Chair – April Dunham
  • Gail Harbour
  • Marsh Hudson-Knapp
  • Secretary –  Lynn Mazza
  • Jim Vires
  • Sarabeth Ward
  • Lauren Wilcox

NACOLE Members

Brian Corr  bcorr@transformpolicing.com
Cameron McEllhiney mcellhiney@nacole.org

Town Staff

Town Manager –  Stuart Hurd shurd@benningtonvt.org

You may visit the Community Policing and related topics page for additional Community Policing information.

Resource Materials
Some of the resources or files listed below may be scans of original documents. If you require a file that is readable by applications such as JAWS for the visually impaired, contact our Communications Coordinator.

National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement


Bibliographies on Community Policing and Oversight are located on the Community Policing and related topics page.

Resources from IACP

Update on Bennington's progress on IACP Report Recommendations - September 1, 2023


Additional Resources: