Boulder City Council to consider whether to adopt plan on Sept. 7

The Boulder Police Department today released its Reimagine Policing Plan, which is slated for City Council consideration in two weeks, capping off a 19-month process of community engagement and reform analysis.

The plan is scheduled to be discussed and voted on by Boulder City Council on Thursday, Sept. 7. The discussion will include a public hearing.

The Reimagine Policing Plan, linked here and available on the project page on the city’s website, calls for a significant transformation from a call-and-respond model of policing to a crime prevention approach called Problem-Solving Policing. The new model strives to reduce crime and arrests – and by extension, disproportionate impacts on communities of color. It does this by pro-actively bringing officers, community members and other city resources together to solve problems, ideally before they escalate to illegal activity.

“I’m excited to present this plan to council and the community,” Police Chief Maris Herold said. “Problem-solving policing is a shift that needs to happen in policing not just here in Boulder, but across the U.S. As chief, I have made some operational decisions already in this direction, but the release of this plan and council’s vote represent an important touchpoint with the Boulder community.”

In addition to presenting a case for the problem-solving policing model, the plan details other actions the department has committed to, in response to policing best practices and community input. Some examples include:

  • Creation of a performance metrics system for officers with early-warning indicators to identify future officer misconduct. Once officers are identified as problematic, management intervenes to change their behavior.
  • Expanded efforts to recruit and retain women and other individuals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives;
  • Continued work to create a local police academy, in partnership with CU Boulder Police, to ensure that training aligns with community values for de-escalation and problem-solving policing principles;
  • Roll-out in 2024 of collaborative problem-solving neighborhood meetings in parts of town with higher call volumes;
  • Co-creation of a youth engagement program that builds trust, creates space for honest conversations on issues that are impacting young people, and provides opportunities for participation in key decisions;
  • Adoption of an online tool that will allow community members to rate their experience with Boulder officers and police department employees after every interaction;
  • Publication of traffic stop and use of force data, broken down by demographics; and align published data with independent public accountability standards;
  • A commitment to address staffing needs to allow officers to spend 40% of their time on prevention and problem-solving in accordance with best practices;
  • Enhanced wellness programs for officers and staff;
  • Opportunities for more community participation in key technology, training and promotion decisions; and
  • Continued partnership with mental health professionals and other city entities to holistically respond to problems that may not call for police as the lead response.

Community members who wish to provide feedback on the plan are invited to sign up to testify in person or virtually for the public hearing. Advanced sign-up is required. The form to register for the public hearing will be available starting at 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 1 and closing at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6. No one will be permitted to sign up the night of the hearing. More information, including the online sign-up form, is available on the Participate in City Council Meetings website. Interested individuals should sign up for the public hearing as opposed to open comment.

A limited number of paper copies of the Reimagine Policing plan are available upon request. Please contact Communications Sr. Manager for Public Safety and Critical Response Jennifer Ciplet by email at cipletj@bouldercolorado.gov to request a printed version.

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