GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The City of Grand Rapids’ Office of Oversight and Public Accountability (OPA) formally presented its draft strategic plan and independent, comprehensive report on police studies and recommendations Tuesday.
The presentation took place during the City Commission’s Committee of the Whole meeting.
OPA’s draft strategic plan — released Aug. 11 — provides a road map for the office and includes strategic priorities that have specific objectives, action steps and measurable outcomes.
“While creating this plan, we focused on elevating resident voice, pursing equitable outcomes and reimagining policing in Grand Rapids,” Oversight and Public Accountability Director Brandon Davis said.
“This plan is the product of the collective wisdom of community, City staff and the information contained in the City’s past studies and recommendations. It is a living, breathing document that is intended to guide OPA’s strategic direction while being flexible enough to adapt to the needs of our community. It also provides an opportunity for stakeholders to hold OPA accountable.”
The plan is aligned to the City’s strategic plan with a focus on public safety accountability that intentionally pursues justice. OPA’s strategic priorities are change, accountability, restorative justice, empowerment, engagement and plus – or C.A.R.E.+, which means:
- Change – OPA will help improve public safety policies and operations through innovation and collaboration.
- Accountability – OPA will help improve individual, supervisory and organizational accountability for public safety activities through civilian oversight of all public safety operations.
- Restorative justice – OPA will help reduce barriers to trust that have been created by systemic inequities in the criminal justice system or that cause disparate outcomes.
- Engagement and empowerment – OPA will help enhance communication and education with the public regarding public safety matters.
The plan’s values are transparency, responsibility, unity, equity and justice – or T.R.U.E. Justice.
Next, the OPA will work to finalize the plan and create procedures to create actionable steps. Davis said internal and external education on OPA’s role and focus will begin in November. Community members still can provide feedback on OPA’s draft strategic plan here.
Davis also outlined OPA’s draft independent comprehensive status report on GRPD studies and recommendations, including the 12-point plan, traffic stop study, task force on police policies and procedures report, staffing and deployment study and Safe Alliances for Everyone report.
“Transparency and accountability are important pillars in building trust,” Davis said. “This independent status report is an important step toward increasing accountability and transparency in our public safety operations.”
“I am supportive of Chief Payne’s decision to cast his vision for our police department, and I am supportive of any changes that help increase accountability and transparency and help make Grand Rapids a place where all people feel safe and are safe at all times,” Davis said. “However, before moving forward, we must be accountable for the recommendations and commitments of the past. This comprehensive report is an important step in accomplishing that goal.”
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