PD Editorial: A roadmap for a stronger community

Supervisor Efren Carrillo was on the mark Monday when he said that the 21 members of the Sonoma County task force appointed in the aftermath of the Andy Lopez shooting weren’t asked to evaluate “what they think we can afford and what we can’t.”

They were asked to figure out what the county needs to do to move forward. In that respect, they’ve done their job and more.

Two of the task force’s subcommittees so far have issued an array of recommendations ranging from expanding community policing programs to improving cultural diversity in law enforcement to creating a public art program in the neighborhoods near where Andy Lopez was shot by a sheriff’s deputy on Oct. 22, 2013.

The latest recommendations, presented by the Community Engagement and Healing subcommittee, include promising ideas such as:

Increasing the number of school resource officers available in Sonoma County schools.

Expanding behavioral health counseling and mental health programs for students with social and emotional needs.

Creating a countywide “student congress” that allows for “the reporting, distribution, and collection of critical information regarding social, health, financial, and academic capital.” According to the recommendations, the congress of middle and high school students would not only be a viable alternative to joining a gang but also would be “a pipeline to civic engagement in student and in local government.”

All told the recommendations would cost an estimated $1.5 million, some of which would need to be covered by schools, some by the county, some by cities.

Certainly, nobody should be under the impression that these improvements will happen overnight. At the same time, the public needs to have confidence that progress will happen soon on some fronts.

In our view, the immediate priority should be given to recommendations that expand connections and improve communication between law enforcement and residents in and near the Roseland and the Moorland Avenue neighborhood.

With the county about to begin developing its budget for the coming year, it will be important to get these funding ideas on the table as soon as possible.

These would include a recommendation made by the Community Policing subcommittee in December to have the county assign two deputies to work five-year assignments in the Moorland area. Other ideas including increasing the availability of ride-alongs and other job-shadowing activities, establishing a Police Athletic League in underserved areas and improving pathways for students at local high schools interested in law enforcement careers.

In addition to encouraging the hiring of more public enforcement officers with local roots, the task force has recommended the hiring of more women and Latinos. All of these are aimed at improving the relationship between residents and deputies.

It’s a two-way street. These proposals acknowledge the need for greater understanding and, hopefully, appreciation for the often difficult roles of public safety officers. Meanwhile, they also come with an acknowledgment that there’s more that the law enforcement community can learn about the Moorland area - and with such improved understanding, no doubt, will come better relations and better policing. Given all the county has gone through the past 15 months, one can’t put a price tag on that.