Follow-up on Diversity and Inclusion Action Item

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

Over the course of the last year, we have continued to seek meaningful ways for our campus to support Goal 2 of our strategic plan to “advance equity, diversity, inclusiveness, and social justice within the campus community.” As part of our campus diversity and inclusion action items, we brought in third-party expertise to advise us regarding any policy adaptations that could help the UMD Police Department (UMDPD) build upon the department’s focus on campus public safety and the uniqueness of law enforcement within our university community.

To assist with that effort, we retained CL Alexander Consulting, led by Dr. Cedric Alexander, an expert in law enforcement with over 40 years in public safety. Dr. Alexander and his team conducted listening sessions with our campus community to identify strengths and opportunities to improve UMDPD’s effectiveness, to enhance campus relationships, and to increase public safety and trust.

The Report and Recommendations

After engaging with our campus community last semester, Dr. Alexander and his team have provided a report with findings and recommendations. The report conclusion states “Overall, UMDPD has low levels of use of force incidents and does not have disparate outcomes in arrest data. However, the broader national and state context has raised the need for every law enforcement agency to deepen its relationships and capacity to be open and transparent; to fully engage their communities, especially the most marginalized, and those most often interacting with police.”

The report is comprehensive, thoughtful, and honest, and I encourage you to read the full report. The overall findings from their work are:

• There is a wide range of perceptions about police in general and the UMDPD. There are those who fear police and any interactions with them, and those who view police as their protectors from crime.
• UMDPD use of force data over the last five years is a very low number and is not disproportionate in terms of the race of the persons involved in the use of force incidents.
• UMDPD data covering arrests of both students and non-students for the last four years found that the arrest rate for underrepresented groups is below the demographics for UMD.
• UMDPD engages in a number of community outreach efforts and participates in diversity and inclusion platforms. But there is a lack of public awareness of UMDPD community engagement efforts.
• UMDPD has a diverse staff of 12, that includes 11 licensed police officers; 5 are female, 4 identify as members of underrepresented groups, 1 has a disability, and 3 are veterans. Although UMDPD has a diverse police force, they are understaffed according to the Department of Justice-Bureau of Justice Statistics national averages.
• During the listening sessions, faculty and staff were strong advocates for students, sharing what they have heard from students, particularly BIPOC students, whereas students tended to be more reserved in sharing their perceptions.

The proposed recommendations fall into five broad categories for response:

• Proactive police interactions;
• Implicit bias, use of force, and cultural competency;
• UMDPD mutual aid agreements;
• Mental health, homeless, disabilities, sexual assault, domestic violence, substance abuse incidents;
• Demilitarization, arming of police.

In the months ahead, I will work closely with Interim Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations Sue Bosell and UMDPD Chief Sean Huls to operationalize these recommendations. There are recommendations included in Dr. Alexander’s report that will require further consideration and analysis, including adding officers to UMDPD. There are also many actions already underway, such as planned proactive community policing events for the fall semester, equipping UMDPD officers with body cameras, an updated UMDPD website, and increased communication efforts. We take this report and the recommendations very seriously and will continue to find ways to improve and best serve our campus community.

UMDPD Service

While the report focuses on identifying areas for improvement, it also recognizes the strengths of UMDPD. The department has taken significant steps to broaden officers’ skill sets in de-escalation, mental health, and cultural sensitivity, as well as to enhance community relationships. This commitment to ongoing change as a modern police department supports UMDPD’s mission to serve the UMD campus.

We are incredibly grateful to all who shared their important voice and unique experiences throughout this process. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor