Passage of AB3 an important step in building trust with our police departments
University Police Services already in compliance with new reforms, and is pushing to continue progress
During the 32nd Special Session of the Nevada State Legislature, I provided testimony in support of Assembly Bill 3 (AB 3), which calls for significant change and reform in the use of force and restraint by police officers. AB 3 was passed by the Nevada State Assembly on Saturday and the Nevada State Senate on Monday. The bill will soon be signed into law by Governor Steve Sisolak.
As my remarks explain below, University Police Services have already implemented many of the reforms contained in the language of AB 3. Going forward, University Police Services will continue to work with our northern Nevada NSHE campus communities at building trust and collaborative relationships. We have been busy in the last couple of months and I am proud to highlight some of the progress we as a department have made.
- Police Services and our campus community are reforming the Advisory Board. Our first meeting was in July and we are meeting again next week.
- As noted in my testimony, we have reviewed our policies and made changes based on the #8cantwait campaign. Again, very proud that we were already in compliance with 7 out of the 8 and now can say we meet all 8.
- We have partnered with the School of Social work to bring interns into the department. This Fall, Police Services will have two interns working with patrol officers. I believe this relationship will be very valuable. There is also opportunity for University Police to take relative classes (Structural Oppression) for additional training and have opportunities to build relationships with students in the class room. Dean Shadi Martin has been a champion to work with on this partnership.
- I, along with my command staff, will be attending a Cultural Competency Leadership class next week.
- All of our officers have taken “Project Implicit” - Project Implicit translates that academic research into practical applications for addressing diversity, improving decision-making, and increasing the likelihood that practices are aligned with personal and organizational values. This will also be part of our pre-employment hiring and screening process.
- Lastly, and I am so very proud of our training section, we have trained our entire department in de-escalation techniques and have the only POST certified lesson plan in the state of Nevada for de-escalation called ICAT – Integrated Communication, Assessments and Tactics through the Police Executive Research Forum. This is specifically designed for individuals who are unarmed, armed with something other than a firearm, experiencing mental health issues or are in crisis.
Below is text of my remarks, which were made to the Assembly Committee of the Whole on Saturday, Aug. 1:
My name is Todd Renwick, Assistant Vice President and Director for University Police Services – Northern Command. I oversee police services for UNR, TMCC, DRI, WNC and GBC on behalf of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Thank you Mr. Speaker and Committee of the Whole. Like my Colleague for University Police Services – Southern Command Director Garcia, I am in FULL support of this bill. University Police Services-Northern Command has worked hard over the last several years to change the way we deliver our Police Services to our community and hold our employees accountable, but more importantly, create the right service oriented culture within our department. Old ways of Policing are not effective anymore. Our community needs a guardian mentality to look after them. I am pleased to tell you we have already implemented most of these reforms. I am also proud to say that we have trained our entire department in de-escalation techniques and have the only POST certified lesson plan in the state of Nevada for de-escalation called ICAT – Integrated Communication, Assessments and Tactics through the Police Executive Research Forum. We are committed to this movement for reform and look forward to working with our state leaders, law enforcement and community at working towards police reform.
