FERGUSON, Mo. - Nearly one month after a white Ferguson police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, the City Council announced Monday that it planned to approve a broad set of changes meant to help improve relations between the police and the community and reduce court fines and costs that have disproportionately affected black residents.
The Council said it would create a citizen review board to provide 'oversight and guidance' to the police department, which has come under heavy criticism in the aftermath of Mr. Brown's shooting. The department has 53 officers, of whom three are black, although Ferguson's population is roughly two-thirds African-American.
'The overall goal of these changes is to improve trust and increase transparency,' Mark Byrne, a council member, said in a statement released Monday. 'We want to demonstrate to residents that we take their concerns extremely seriously. That's why we're initiating new changes within our local police force and in our courts.'
Data from municipal courts across Missouri show that in 2013, the city of Ferguson had the highest number of warrants issued in the state relative to its size. Arrest warrants are often served by municipal courts when someone fails to appear in court to pay fines for a traffic or other violation, like shoplifting, assault or disturbance of peace.
The high rate could reflect more crime as well as heavier prosecution, and it could be indicative of a fraught relationship between law enforcement and citizens. Brendan Roediger, an assistant professor at Saint Louis University School of Law and supervisor of the school's Civil Litigation Clinic, said that resentment toward the police in Ferguson 'is primarily formed around these interactions and not around investigations of serious crimes.'
Ferguson issued more than 1,500 per 1,000 people in 2013. Numbers include people being served more than one warrant in a year or nonresidents being served for a violation within the city.
Warrants Issued Per 1,000 People in 2013
Each bar represents a Missouri city larger than 10,000 people
Darker bars are cities in St. Louis County
Data from municipal courts across Missouri show that in 2013, the city of Ferguson had the highest number of warrants issued in the state relative to its size. Arrest warrants are often served by municipal courts when someone fails to appear in court to pay fines for a traffic or other violation, like shoplifting, assault or disturbance of peace.
The high rate could reflect more crime as well as heavier prosecution, and it could be indicative of a fraught relationship between law enforcement and citizens. Brendan Roediger, an assistant professor at Saint Louis University School of Law and supervisor of the school's Civil Litigation Clinic, said that resentment toward the police in Ferguson 'is primarily formed around these interactions and not around investigations of serious crimes.'
Warrants Issued
Per 1,000 People in 2013
Each bar represents a Missouri
city larger than 10,000 people
Darker bars are cities in
St. Louis County
Ferguson issued more than 1,500 per 1,000 people in 2013. Numbers include people being served more than one warrant in a year or nonresidents being served for a violation within the city.
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Some towns in St. Louis County are increasingly dependent on revenues from court costs and other administrative fees, which often fall on young black men who are pulled over at a rate greater than whites and frequently cannot afford lawyers to defend themselves.
The Ferguson City Council, which is mostly white, is planning to convene Tuesday evening for a meeting that will be held in a local church.
At that meeting, the Council is expected to introduce an ordinance intended to limit court fine revenues. If the fines exceed 15 percent of the city's revenues, the excess funds will be devoted to community projects, the Council said.
'We are hopeful that the Council's clear statement will encourage the municipal judge and prosecutor to explore and utilize alternative methods of sentencing, such as community service, to punish violators and deter similar unlawful conduct,' the Council said.
Another ordinance to be introduced on Tuesday will call for the repeal of the 'failure to appear' offense, under which a fine is levied. Other small fines could be ended under the ordinance, including a $25 fee to cover the 'cost of police personnel who arrange for the towing' of abandoned or nonfunctional vehicles.
The Council, meeting for the first time since the Aug. 9 shooting, also said it would seek federal and state funding for a project to improve West Florissant Avenue, the site of the protests that have roiled this city. On Monday afternoon, many businesses on West Florissant were open, but operating with plywood covering their windows.
Posted by Unknown on Monday, September 8, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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