The Cincinnati Black United Front (CBUF) says achieving bias-free policing is only possible if the public knows the race of the people arrested. The organization wants that information entered into the public portal Cincy Insights so it can analyze it.
A Cincinnati Police spokesman says officers do record the data and it's available through public records requests. There is an effort to get the information onto the public portal, but a software glitch appears to be delaying it.
"The next step is just to hound them until they get it done," says Attorney Al Gerhardstein, who represents CBUF. "It can't be that hard to get real-time data."
CBUF also wants a problem-solving task force in place regarding youth public safety issues. Gerhardstein says Cincinnati agreed to make this happen after the 2018 tasing of an 11-year-old girl who allegedly shoplifted. He points out a study his firm did on how many minors were tased.
"We need to converge the best thinkers and meet with the police department and all the people serving youth and come up with the best strategy we can to minimize force, minimize arrests and treat kids fairly," he says.
In the meantime, police say they are taking steps to reach out to youth and have dialogue. On Friday, June 19, the youth summit "Stronger Together" is scheduled on Zoom from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. It features Police Chief Eliot Isaac and Iris Roley of the Black United Front and others.
The event comes two days after the chief spoke to kids in the Cincinnati Public School district.
Police also want to make the public aware of their Explorer program and the Summer Cadet Program.
