As one of her final policy changes before leaving office, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren has announced creation of a “Civilian Public Safety Interview Panel,” which will screen police officer candidates for possible racism and bias.
The panel will be advisory, and the police chief will have the final say on who gets hired under state law.
Warren says the panel is in response to former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order last year requiring local governments across the state to adopt police reform plans.
The panel will have nine-to-12 civilian members who will be trained to handle employee screening. As part of the hiring process for new officers, it will judge their attitude, temperament and implicit biases. The panel will be set up by a team led by the Reverend Lewis Stewart of United Church Leadership Ministries, a representative of the RPD and a member of the city human resources staff.
Stewart conceived the panel idea as part of the city’s response to the governor’s executive order. He says it will restore trust between policing and the community.
Asked if she had run this by incoming Mayor Malik Evans, Warren said there is “one mayor at a time” and for now, that’s her.