Explanation
BACKGROUND
This ordinance provides for the submission to the electors of the city of Columbus the question of amending the Charter of the City of Columbus, as relates to community crisis response services.
For the past several years, cites across the country, including Columbus, have looked to reimagine public safety. This includes how cities respond to calls for service. Police, as well as firefighters, had long been asked to respond to any calls that came through for service, whether they be emergency or non-emergency. This had them doing not only their assigned duties, but also required them to act as social workers, behavioral health specialists, mediators, and the like. Police and Fire have been required to respond to crisis calls that involved behavioral health, homelessness, and similar situations. And, in some tragic circumstances, the response of armed law enforcement escalated the situations, resulting in injuries and sometimes even deaths.
During an extensive, multi-year engagement with stakeholders including City officials, safety forces, community activists, faith leaders and others, City Council has enacted several different policy and programming reforms that seek to change how Police and Fire interact with residents, including the creation of a civilian police review board, requirements for how to interact with non-violent protestors, and funding alternative response services such as Mobile Crisis Response, RREACT, and an upcoming medical triage line.
To continue its mission to ensure that every resident receives the right response by the right professional for these calls for service, Council is proposing an amendment to the City Charter that establishes a community crisis response service system for the City. This includes the creation of an internal office, division, or department that would coordinate and collaborate around the provision of these services, as appropriate. The amendment would also establish an adviso...
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