The Utica Police Department is about to launch a bold new program aimed at improving police / community relations.
The Department is partnering with Peacemaker Inc. to impliment a mediation program to resolve disputes between police and the people they serve. Over the next several months, Peacemaker will train mediators who will bring police officers together with their accusers. According to a news release, "the goal is to "provide a form where community members and police officers can work together to resolve disputes in a way that promotes better relations and gain public trust in the police dcepartment outside the disciplinary process."
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said, "it takes the two parties and gets them in a controlled environment...in front of a trained mediator whose not there to cast judgement ...get the two to talk out their differences and understand each others perspective."
Williams says the mediation program is similar to one in Denver Colorado. He says it would not involve "serious" complaints against police or those which may end in a lawsuit. Peacemaker Inc. says the program is free to taxpayers,
