COLUMBUS, Ohio — The City of Columbus released on Wednesday findings from a consulting firm looking at how the Columbus Division of Police is functioning.
Among those findings were disparities in public perception and discrimination among the department.
Watch: Mayor Andrew Ginther addresses the findings of the report:
“We hired an independent third-party consulting firm to conduct an operational review of the Columbus Division of Police through the lens of 21st century policing. Matrix Consulting has worked with our officers, community members and city staff over the last year to develop the report that we are making available to you today,” said Mayor Andrew Ginther in a news release.
Ginther says the city and the country is at a crucial time in police and community relations and says changes need to be made to both regain trust, and to make the job safer for officers.
The consulting firm says the department says it has a disconnect between their policies and what actually happens in the field.
The firm says officers need to work better with community members, the department needs to bring the technology and policies to the 21st century when talking about use of force training.
The firm says there needs to be more supervisors and sergeants, and the department needs to allow officers more time to do proactive police work.
The review found significant discrepancies, especially along racial lines-both within the department and how community members felt they were treated by officers.
In the survey, while 74% of community members felt Columbus police was doing a good job while only 61% of black respondents had the same perception. Among employees, 80% felt the police department had a good relationship with the community while 61% of black employees agreed.
Another finding in the report suggested that special assignments and promotions in the department were based too heavily on seniority instead of merit.
When it came to findings on discrimination, the survey found racial discrimination was the most common type after gender discrimination.
Nearly 70% of black respondents in the survey said they witnessed discrimination within the department compared to less than a quarter of white respondents.
The community safety advisory commission will take a look at the study and recommend changes to the department. They expect to have the recommendations in a couple of weeks.
You can read the full report here.
