Mayor Fuller has announced she will form a “Newton Police Reform Task Force” to perform a “a holistic assessment of the department and make recommendations on the policies, procedures, practices and overall strategic direction for Newton’s policing effort.” Here are our demands for that Task Force to ensure that it can fulfill that mission effectively.

1. Take “police reform” out of the Task Force name. The scope of the Task Force’s mandate goes beyond police reform and includes reimagining the delivery of public safety and welfare services in Newton. We suggest the "Refunding Community Safety Task Force."

2. The Task Force must be mandated to produce a 3-5 year blueprint for divesting from NPD and reinvesting in our community. The Task Force’s authority must include recommending the reassignment of services that can be delivered more effectively by other departments, with a corresponding reallocation of resources.  We recognize that change doesn’t happen overnight, but we want Newton to commit to long-term transition and transformation.

3. The Task Force must center voices who have been overpoliced and underserved by public safety and welfare services; its composition is critical to delivering on its mission of combating systemic racism and promoting social justice in the delivery of public safety and welfare services. We demand that the Task Force’s nine-member panel must have at least seven members who identify as BIPOC, at least two members who identify as LGBTQIA+,  and at least five members who identify as identify as female, transgender, agender, gender fluid or non-binary.

4. Any consultant or facilitator hired to work with the Task Force must be a BIPOC or minority-owned business enterprise.

5. All Task Force members must disclose any law enforcement affiliations, including to the NPD or any other law enforcement organization, including: members of their household with law enforcement roles, past or current income derived from law enforcement agencies, political contributions to or from law enforcement candidates or organizations, charitable donations to or from law enforcement organizations, membership with any law enforcement union association. No more than three members of the Task Force may have any such affiliations.

6. At least one member of the Task Force must be a member of Defund NPD.

7. The Task Force must have the ability to require the production of documents and cooperation of witnesses. The City Council must commit to supporting subpoenas requested by the Task Force as allowed by Mass. General Laws chapter 233, section 8 regarding entities that may summon witnesses (which specifies that city councils may do so for hearings).

8. The Task Force must have the ability to hold community listening sessions and solicit public comment, and the Mayor’s office should agree to provide facilities for open, public meetings to seek the input of the community with reasonable advance notice. Mayor Fuller’s announcement suggested that “surveys, focus groups or interviews” provide the basis for its findings, but we believe community listening sessions and public comments submitted through various channels are also an important source of input into the Task Force’s analysis.

9. The NPD FY21 budget must be contingent on cooperation with the Task Force. All requests for information or interviews by the Task Force must be completed by the NPD within 30 days, and the NPD must make all data and reports open source within 30 days from the appointment of the Task Force .

10. The Task Force must deliver its recommendations no later than April 1, 2021 and those recommendations must be incorporated into the Mayor’s FY22 budget proposal. If, for any reason, the Task Force’s recommendations are not delivered by April 1, 2021 or are not incorporated into the Mayor’s FY22 budget proposal, the NPD budget for FY22 will be automatically reduced by 20% under FY21 levels.

11. Mayor Fuller must maintain 100% transparency in her methods of selecting the members of the Task Force.