If schools teach children that police are their friends, why are so many kids angry at the cops?
Nearly 750 people aged 14 to 25 answered questionnaires for the Cincinnati Police-Community Relations Collaborative. The effect of their statements can be numbing.
"The city of Cincinnati needs to realize that there is in fact a problem. The problem is police brutality. Police are quick to shoot black men." ... "My first goal is for police to stop harassing black people. When I'm out with my boyfriend, he gets pulled over because he drives a Lexus." ... "My first goal for future police-community relations is for police to stop harassing us black men because we dress a certain way or look a certain way or because of the color of our skin." ... "To stop police brutality and police racism." ... "Stop killing black men."
The questionnaires are part of an intricate mediation process designed by the ARIA Group Inc., the mediator crafting a settlement of a lawsuit accusing the Cincinnati Police Division of racial profiling. Thus the participants in the mediation forums -- in this case, kids as young as 14 -- are in effect negotiating with cops.
At a forum Aug. 16, Jay Rothman, president of the ARIA Group, told youth representatives their perspective is as important as that of police, business leaders and other groups.
"It's been said the riots, the unrest, the troubles have been kicked off by the youth feeling not listened to, not respected, so it's appropriate that we begin with you," Rothman said. "You're representing your peers, and you will all be heard."
Professional mediators and volunteer facilitators met four hours with youth participants, creating a list of demands.
"It's your job to decide whether they're the right categories, the right words, the right platform," Rothman said.
Many of the questionnaires offer concrete examples for improving relations with police: "Stop overwhelming urban functions, gatherings and parties with police force." ... "My goal is for the police to leave us alone when we are chilling on the corner, because it's nothing else to do, because the community centers are either closed or too hot to be in." ... "Get police out of their cars and converse with the people."
Other responses, if less than analytical, still capture something the police need to hear: "My first goal for the police and community relations is for the police to stop being so aggressive and mean looking." ... "My first goal is to eliminate profiling -- not just race profiling, but age profiling as well."
The ARIA Group has already met with religious leaders, social workers and youth and will next meet with police officers and their families, African Americans older than 25, whites older than 25, other minorities and business leaders. The mediation involves negotiating between groups but also between members of groups. After all, not all youth have the same opinions.
Perhaps it's a small thing, but already the language of the mediation is taking on a tone more conducive to compromise. The hundreds of statements from questionnaires had been grouped into large categories, five of which were adopted by the youth forum last week.
A subtle change took place as the final categories were defined. At the start of the meeting, one category for consideration was "Promote Trust and Decrease Confrontation and Violence between Police and Community." But the final rendering was "Promote Trust and Decrease Confrontation and Violence to Ensure Safety."
That's not to say the kids went soft. The five goals they settled on, however mildly phrased, signal their insistence on a settlement that protects their interests -- and protects them from the police:
· Establish and maintain positive interaction and communication between the police and the community.
· Build greater understanding and cooperation within and between communities and with the police.
· Develop fairness and respect between the police force and the community.
· Invest in self-help community education and development.
Before the youth representatives began meeting, facilitator Ilyas Nashid outlined rules for respectful discussion. Then he asked if anyone objected to the rules. Nashid didn't say it, but he didn't need to: That's how free people govern themselves.
