MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon Police Chief Robert Morgan and his staff spent the past 12 to 18 months making reforms, something that Councilman John Francis said has been lacking in the department.
Morgan presented reforms to City Council on Monday that included rewriting existing policies and adding new ones that bring the city’s Police Department in compliance with Ohio and national standards.
The reforms should lead to full certification by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board, he said.
The Police Department implemented new policies on the use of force, how to restrain pregnant women, requiring mandatory reviews for use of force, vehicle pursuits and bias-based policing. In keeping with new standards, the Police Department banned neck restraint except in cases with life or death as the only option.
He said they track how many people are pulled over in traffic stops and gather demographics including race, age and gender.
“We are right in line with community demographics,” Morgan said. “We have no large spikes in any of the areas along with that. In 2020, we have had no reported incidents placed to the Police Department for any bias-based policing.”
As new policies are adopted, officers must sign off that they have read it, understood it and have been instructed by their supervisors on the policy’s content.
Mandated anti-bias training has been added, Morgan said. Solution tactics and training and crisis intervention training are now required. A few new hires still need to complete the 40-hour crisis intervention training at the Mental Health Recovery Board.
Another requirement is that officers promoted to supervisory positions must be sent to leadership schools to learn how to be a supervisor.
The city’s Neighborhood Watch program also requires training to be a controller and be in the program, he said. Participants are trained to witness and report. They are not to make contact with people they encounter.
Council approval of new body cameras and cruiser cameras will improve accountability when they are shipped and installed in the next month or so.
“Our old system is a little tired and a little bit unreliable at this point,” Morgan said.
Computer-based software will allow redaction of videos so they can be released more readily, something previously impossible.
The Police Department underwent the last step toward receiving final certification from the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board. A representative of the Ohio Collaborative went to the Police Department and grilled them for several hours.
Council President Bruce Hawkins asked if all the changes in law enforcement have affected hiring new officers.
Morgan said when he applied to be an officer, 50 people signed up and took the test to fill two positions. The last time the Police Department opened for applications, 16 people signed up and 15 showed up for the test.
The Ohio Collaborative representative commented on how the Police Department is not very diverse, which Morgan confirmed. They will begin using a national testing organization to cast a wider net to hire diverse candidates because they are not applying locally.
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