HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Item - 2020-11-17 - Number 7. - P. Ginn Comment Submitted by Pat Ginn.
As a resident of Lake Oswego, I am submitting my statement to be read at the City Council
Meeting being held on 11.17.20. I have lived in Lake Oswego for 21 years and worked in Lake
Oswego for 15 years. As a woman of color, living and working in the community certainly was
fraught with multiple challenges. Hence it is important to be in conversations and listen to the
heart of the BIPOC community if your goal is to make LO a more inclusive place to live and
work. I would like to address agenda items 8.1: DEI Task Force Data and 8.3: Community
Policing.
8.1 DEI Task Force Data.
I appreciate the effort that the City and the Task Force has put into the completed survey
involving Focus groups. Having dealt with data when I was employed with LOSD, the following
information would be pertinent in analyzing the full scope of the survey:
1. Did the data include those who live outside of LO as part of the survey? This would be
important as they bring the perspective from outside of the city. That would include
people who pass through (shop, visit a friend, attend an event), students who play on
teams, and those who work in the community.
2. Is there a breakdown of age, ethnicity and gender? This information would be helpful in
gaining a better analysis of the data to ensure there was an even representation and not
skewed towards a particular age, ethnicity or gender. The comparative data between
these groups would also be important in determining the specific barriers. Also there
was too low a number of participants in the Youth Engagement survey to report
conclusive data.
Recommendation: The full data will give a better idea of the community's character and quality
of life while recognizing the need for greater inclusiveness. If that data was collected please
include that in the report.
8.3 Community Policing
In June the Council decided it wants to be involved in a community dialog around policing in LO.
Thank you for starting this process for defining Community Policing in Lake Oswego.
My recommendation is as follows:
1. Ensure that the BIPOC community is well represented. Ask Community groups such as
Respond to Racism, LO Chinese Council to recruit focus group participants.
2. (As noted previously for 8. 1) Include data from those who live outside the LO community
to gain their experience and perspective of the city.
3. (As noted previously for 8. 1) Include data for age, ethnicity and gender to gain full
representation.
4. The last sentence of the statement by the City that says "Our vision is to ensure that we
have a Police Department where a person's race does not determine the outcome of
their interaction with our officers and where all people feel safe." I recommend that we
want a Police Department where a person's race does NOT precipitate a negative
interaction with the police nor affect the outcome of such interaction.