Iowa City gets recommendations from diversity committee

IOWA CITY – The City Council Tuesday night approved what could be a blueprint for improving the relationship between racial minorities and the city's police and transit departments.

The council voted 7-0 to accept more than two dozen recommendations from city staffers that came in response to a citizen-led, council-appointed committee.

The Ad Hoc Diversity Committee was formed last August to examine how Iowa City's transit system and Police Department interact with minorities, with some people saying mistrust in city authorities has created problems.

Most council members spoke favorably of the recommendations, but one, Jim Throgmorton, was underwhelmed by the response from the city. He said the proposals, especially those dealing with the police, did not include enough new actions.

“I believe we should be seeing a much more active indication of what the department will change, not what it will continue doing,” he said.

Council member Susan Mims said she understood where Throgmorton was coming from, but she did see change.

“And I see this as a very positive first step, and only a first step,” she said.

But a few community members, while often thanking city staffers for their work, said they did not think the city's recommendations fully reflected what was sought by the diversity committee.

Dorothy Whiston, who is a member of two organizations that examine race issues, said she thought the diversity committee was calling for a significant culture change in the Police Department.

“And I didn't see that kind of urgency and the real shift in direction they were asking for in the response” from the city, she said.

The recommendations all have sub-recommendations, but the general ones are:

Police Department:

• Create a more positive culture that focuses on a "protect and serve" approach.
• Increase the understanding between police officers and the minority community.
• Respond to the pending recommendations to the City Council from the Human Rights Commission.

Police Citizens Review Board:

• Increase public awareness of the Police Citizen's Review Board and the complaint process.
• Change the process and procedure for the Police Citizen's Review Board to address the issue of public distrust.
• Respond to the pending recommendations to the council from the board.

Iowa City Transportation Services Department:

• Work on providing additional transit options.
• Look into alternatives to notifying the public about acceptable behavior expectations and procedures.
• Increase community outreach efforts.
• Improve overall environment of downtown interchange and high-volume bus stops/shelters.
• Improve communication between other transit services in the area.

Some of the recommendations will involve policy changes the council will have to discuss at future meetings.

Also Tuesday, the council voted unanimously to redefine the human rights coordinator position to a coordinator/equity director position to help implement the recommendations.