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City of Syracuse Opens Digital Portal to Keep Public Updated on Policing Reforms

Scott Willis
/
WAER News

The City of Syracuse continues to attempt to meet police reform demands laid out by the public in the wake of this summer’s - national and local - social justice demonstrations. A new digital portal announced by the city last week allows citizens to compare the 16 components of Mayor Ben Walsh’s Police Reform Order with the nine demands from a coalition of local organizations.

Mayor Ben Walsh says the portal will provide transparency between the city and its citizens.

“It’s important that we hold ourselves accountable to our commitments but we also empower our constituents to hold us accountable to exactly where we stand on them, what we’ve accomplished, what we still have left to do in the timeframe in which we intend to do it. So [we’re] really trying to focus on transparency. 

The status of the Mayor’s Executive Order will constantly be updated on the portal. His administration has also issued a revised update to the 2019 Body Cam policy and the Use of Force policy - both in draft form.

“There were a number of things that were in previous Use of Force policies that were present but weren’t necessarily prioritized or elevated.”

Mayor Walsh added that he understands the challenges and dangers police officers face, but as our leader, he also needs to first address the well-being of Syracuse citizens.

“The work of policing is extremely difficult, it’s extremely dangerous and with it comes great responsibility. So, we have to balance the realities of the difficult and dangerous work that our officers do with the priority of maintaining the sanctity of life for all that we serve.”

The portal not only gives community members a means to provide the city with feedback about the police reform actions and proposed changes. It also allows the city to demonstrate the stride’s they’ve made to fulfill Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order on police reform which requires every municipality in the state to propose their own police reforms. To view the digital portal visit ourcity.syrgov.net.

John Smith has been waking up WAER listeners for a long time as our Local Co-Host of Morning Edition with timely news and information, working alongside student Sportscasters from the Newhouse School.