WeHo Council reviews study on racial bias in policing

City Council on Monday delved into the complexities of the Center for Policing Equity’s extensive report alleging racial bias within the Sheriff’s Department.

Data spanning from 2017 to 2021 illustrated that of the 104,498 total policing events, 13% had incidents of bodily harm, property damage, or threats. The remaining events saw no such reports, indicating a vast majority of policing interactions were non-confrontational.

The report was commissioned in 2020 at the height of the national frenzy over racial injustice ignited by the murder of George Floyd.

Monday’s meeting highlighted the intricacies of categorizing calls. Questions arose about the definitions of “nuisances” and “public assistance” and how these terms are statistically profiled. The “Justice Navigator,” a tool used to categorize call types, was brought into the discussion, providing insights into the standardized coding system for different calls.

THE STUDY’S FINDINGS

• • • 28% of officer force incidents in West Hollywood were against black people.
    • Black individuals make up about 4% of the West Hollywood population.
    • Latinx people constitute 11% of the population.
    • 22% of the incidents where officers used force were against Latinx people.
    • White individuals make up 76% of the West Hollywood population.
    • 46% of the incidents where officers used force were against white individuals.
    • Officers utilized “pointing firearm” as a force type 45 times during the study period.
    • 36% of the force incidents involved “takedown” as the force type.
    • Contraband was found in 10 to 15% of searches.
    • Most jurisdictions have a contraband yield rate of 25, 30, or 40 percent.
    • Data from 2018 to 2021 was requested regarding the number of deputies a

West Hollywood’s progressive stance on community safety was evident throughout. Since 2020, the city has introduced innovative measures to enhance community safety, including the introduction of Block by Block security ambassadors. The council is keen on a more integrated approach for future data analysis, ensuring a holistic view that takes into account the new methods and initiatives.

Council made clear their disappointment that the study did not include data on discrimination against the LGBT community; the report specifically focused only on race.

“I would like to see and challenge you to look at LGBTQ data,” Mayor Pro Tem John Erickson said. “It’s a big disappointment within the study. That’s not a fault of your own because I understand your own methodology and how you were created and what you do. But I would urge you that that could be a subset of something that I think cities like ours would greatly need.”

There was a candid acknowledgment of racial disparities in policing.

“There is absolutely structural racism built in to the fabric of America in so many different areas,” Mayor Sepi Shyne said. “The area that we are focusing on. right now is the structural racism in policing, that overwhelmingly affects black folks in America, Latinx folks in America and people of color and we don’t have those statistics for LGBTQ people.”

Councilmembers emphasized the city’s core values of equity and safety. The Block by Block Security Ambassador program received notable mention for its effectiveness. The program has not only improved crime rates but has also optimized the allocation of resources, allowing the sheriff’s department to focus on higher-priority crimes.