A member of Ohio's police-community collaborative board says Thursday night's meeting at the University of Cincinnati was one of the best attended on the road. But Karhlton Moore admits low turnout remains a challenge. The room was less than half full and many of those present were law enforcement officers.
The Ohio Collaborative Community Police Advisory Board works on the recommendations of a task force convened to strengthen the relationships between cops and citizens. That task force helped create policing standards for the hiring and training of officers, as well as transparency and use of force.
Moore, who is executive director of the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, says he's disappointed there isn't a greater community presence at the quarterly meetings.
"I think it's important when we do have law enforcement here, for them to hear from the community," Moore says. "I'd love to see more community people come so they can have an opportunity to interact with the law enforcement folks and to start organically building that relationship that's so important."
Moore says the Collaborative needs to hear what Ohioans think about policing in the state. "It's a really important part of what the Collaborative is trying to do in order to both lead and be responsive."
More than 500 Ohio law enforcement agencies have adopted statewide standards for use of force, hiring practices, and use of body cameras.
The task force that created the standards was formed after the police-involved shooting deaths of Tamir Rice in Cleveland and John Crawford in Beavercreek.
