Ramsey to Co-Chair White House Task Force
@WhiteHouse announces creation of a Task Force on 21st Century Policing
to be co-chaired by the PPD's own @PPDCommish pic.twitter.com/Y2F123hcBg— Philadelphia Police Department (@PhillyPolice) December 1, 2014
Philly Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey will help lead the national response to events in Ferguson, Mo, leading a White House task force on “21st century policing.”
The White House announced the task force as part of a host of post-Ferguson initiatives:
The President similarly instructed his team to draft an executive order creating a Task Force on 21st Century Policing, and announced that the Task Force will be chaired by Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, who also serves as President of the Major Cities Chiefs Police Association, and Laurie Robinson, professor at George Mason University and former Assistant Attorney General for DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs. The Task Force will include, among others, law enforcement representatives and community leaders and will operate in collaboration with Ron Davis, Director of DOJ’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office. The Task Force will build on the extensive research currently being conducted by COPS; will examine, among other issues, how to promote effective crime reduction while building public trust; and will be directed to prepare a report and recommendations within 90 days of its creation.
Ramsey has been prominent since the first Ferguson protests erupted over the summer in response to the shooting of an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, by Officer Darren Wilson. Ramsey’s department was credited in recent days with helping post-Ferguson protests here remain peaceful while still letting demonstrators have their public say on the matter.
Ramsey’s department also received a recent review from the Department of Justice, filled with recommendations about how local officers can improve their own 21st-century policing — including recommendations to reduce bias and de-escalating tense situations. That review came after Philly.com reported that police-related shootings are on the rise, even though crime in the city was otherwise decreasing. The final report from the DOJ has not yet been released publicly.
