06/29/1977 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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. e Mr. Lieuallen said he had a problem with recommendation number 2, in which the Police Department was asked to explain in more detail to the youth its procedures. He continued, if the Youth Commission expected the Police Department to make a greater effort, then the same effort should be asked of the youth on the mall. He did not want to cast dispersion on the Police Department by recommending a one-sided program. He commended the Youth Commission for providing a mechanism to deal with this problem. Mr. Delay said he would like to see the idea of a youth center further explored. He had met with many youth on the mall and felt a large number of them were not police problems, but could become so if they did not receive help and direction. He wanted to see staff put more effort into the notion of perhaps peer counseling, thus rescuing some of these youths before they became problem adults. Mrs. Smith cautioned Council, regarding a youth center, that it needed to be very clearly thought through as far as what kind of influence surrounding that facility might be. Mr. Lieuallen questioned under recommendation number 2 how the Youth Commission would suggest ways to understand police problems. Mr. Chalmers replied the examples under the recommendation were some of the kinds of joint opportunities. He said the youth were asking for increased communication, asking for an opportunity to have officers on the mall and talk to them on a one-to-one basis. He felt confident that youth - outreach workers could be used to help establish better communication also. In regard to a proposed youth center, the Youth Commission felt such a center could resolve many conflicts. He also noted cooperation from City staff would be very necessary to keep the situa- tion from turning a different way. The vast majority of the young people want to get involved in their own way, even though that way may not be the way some staff people would wish. Mr. Delay said he felt the staff was not attempting to cast aspersion on the report but noting some problems involved. In terms of testimony from youth on the mall, Chief Brooks had indicated it was impossible to respond to anonymous allegations. Mr. Delay questioned whether the Youth Commission had done anything toward making the youth allegations public. Mr. Chalmers said the Commission had attempted to convince those persons of the options to make complaints. However, he noted the Commission had had a very hard time even getting the anonymous complaints, let alone getting them made public. If any of the claims were true, he said, there was a serious problem at the time the complaints were made, noting violation of civil rights. However, he said the claims were not substantiated. He felt the report and recommendations would create a proper atmosphere for handling future complaints. He requested the City take a leadership role in dealing with the young people. Mr. Delay felt the problem was one of knowing young persons were - hanging out on the mall and engaging in criminal activities, and then using anonymous reports against the Police Department. He said he could not accept that kind of mechanism, feeling the core issue was communication. The young people should be able to come forward and be educated to do that. 6/29/77--7 5Zg