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Last updated on Monday, June 19, 2017
(BLOOMINGTON) - Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton accepted final recommendations from the Downtown Safety, Civility and Justice Task Force Thursday.
The purpose of the Task Force was to make recommendations to the Mayor for steps to improve public safety, civility and justice in downtown Bloomington. The recommendations are the result of five months of research, review of best practices, data analysis and discussion.
Prior to the formation of the Task Force, public input was gathered by the Community Justice and Mediation (CJAM) Center in 2016 and early 2017 through a Deliberative Dialogue process, and the result of that input was part of the foundation for both the preliminary and final recommendations from the Task Force.
Preliminary recommendations were presented by the Task Force in April, and several have been implemented. Those actions include camera installations, an increased law enforcement presence, increased Parks and Recreation programming in People's Park, implementation of a parks sanitation jobs program for underemployed workers seeking to rejoin the workforce, and increased communication with downtown bar and restaurant owners regarding their operations.
"Our community sincerely thanks the volunteers of the Downtown Safety, Civility and Justice Task Force for the many hours of work that went into producing these recommendations. I also thank the hundreds of concerned residents who provided feedback throughout the process. Downtown issues of safety, civility and justice require both good minds and good hearts to reach solutions that are practical, compassionate and effective," Mayor Hamilton stated. "We will continue to work every day to help improve life for all the residents of our community, and these recommendations will help guide our efforts."
The final recommendations can be found online at bloomington.in.gov/SCJinitiative.
Members of the Downtown Safety, Civility and Justice Task Force include:
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