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05/30/2023 12:29 PMOn June 7, the Clinton Police Department will present the results of a three-year study from the Center for Policing Equity (CPE) that looked for signs of bias between the department and the public. The presentation is on Wednesday, June 7, at 6 p.m. at the town hall auditorium.
Three years ago, the Clinton Police Department partnered with the CPE to participate in the justice navigator program.
“The justice navigator works through partnerships between CPE and participating police departments. Departments that choose to partner with CPE submit their own departmental data, which is then analyzed by CPE along with other information, like crime data. The results of this analysis are delivered back to departments in a Justice Navigator assessment,” the CPE states on its website.
“It’s an independent authority that reviews police interactions between the public and different populations to see if there’s any gaps in service,” explained Clinton Police Chief Vincent DeMaio.
Now, the department is publicly presenting the results of the study as compiled by the CPE. DeMaio explained that since the program studied every interaction between the department, there was a tremendous amount of data for people to analyze, which accounted for the length of time for the study to be done.
DeMaio said that the presentation will be a good opportunity for the public to learn about the study’s results and the process that went into the report. DeMaio said that he was pleased with the study results but noted some areas where further analyses were needed.
“It’s a positive step to show transparency and accountability. We want people to know that matters to us,” DeMaio said.
For the last three years, interactions between the police and the public — specifically police and minorities — have been a source of substantial commentary nationwide. While some police departments across the country have come under scrutiny for having a contentious relationship with the communities they serve, DeMaio said he’s proud that the Clinton police department and the public have a strong bond.
“We’ve been pretty community engaged; we have a strong commitment to serving the community, and I think it does show,” DeMaio said.