Laserfiche WebLink
4.A. - Page 62 of 98 <br />PICK <br />PENINSULA CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER <br />health, homelessness, and school counselors/psychologists to better support the populations <br />needing these services (Table 6). <br />Table 6. Redwood Citv Governance <br />Small -Group Sessions Frequency <br />Cost of Living (i.e., affordable housing, poverty, living wage) 52 <br />More Transparency (i.e., city data, independent advisory) 38 <br />More Social Services (i.e., social workers, programs) 32 <br />Better Communication (i.e., community voice, outreach, language) 20 <br />Better City Representation/Diversity 18 <br />City Gentrification/Segregation 17 <br />Furthermore, a request for a more diverse city leadership that represents the diversity in the <br />community was consistently brought up. In particular, representation was connected to <br />addressing the need for better communication and an institutionalized community voice (Table <br />6). Finally, gentrification and segregation were usually brought as a threat to the city's diverse <br />history and the inequity in resources, especially schools. <br />The Redwood City Police <br />The second-largest category of topics focus on the police department, namely around the <br />following themes (a) the various police roles in the community, (b) police harassment, (c) police <br />training, (d) police transparency, and (e) police diversity/representation, which had some overlap <br />with the city themes above, for example, with transparency and representation. However, these <br />themes were explicitly to the police (not the city in general) and kept separate. All instances that <br />specifically mentioned law enforcement are presented in the themes below. <br />The various roles that the police have in the community were consistently brought up for <br />discussion, especially as it related to situations that do not require police presence. The instances <br />that brought these topics were brought up in the context of reallocating funds, resources, and <br />personnel that were more appropriate for a social worker and social programs that better suited <br />the situation. In particular, the issues brought up were around such needs as mental health, <br />homelessness, and school counselors and psychologists for youth. It is essential to point out that <br />this is consistent with the poll question, which asks, "I am concerned the City will reduce <br />funding for the police, and we won't have enough police service for a safe community." Seventy - <br />Seven percent responded they were not concerned about reducing police funding since the <br />request was made to fund social services and programs. <br />Furthermore, police training to educate them on the systemic social problems and their roots to <br />better know the communities of color they serve was brought up as key to community relations <br />(Table 7). The discussion suggested that being educated in the community and immersed in its <br />history can help reduce police profiling and harassment, since it was brought up as an issue in <br />various low-income communities. Most importantly, understanding of the history of an area and <br />the people that live there, the importance of prioritizing de-escalation, and the need for a more <br />diverse police department that reflects the needs and the community they are serving. <br />10 <br />