Mayor Plusquellic announced that he is convening a Crime Control Plan Steering Committee comprised of civic leaders and Block Club representatives, and who will meet with police representatives on a regular basis for the next several months to be a two-way conduit for information between citizens and the police department, and to develop an updated crime control plan. The Steering Committee will consist of approximately 60 individuals.

At the same time, the Mayor announced that he will be appointing a Citizens’ Police Advisory Board, that will meet with the Chief of Police and members of his command staff to insure that there is regular, continuous, active two-way communication between the Department and residents of the city’s neighborhoods.

"Even in this day and age of high-tech communications tools," said the Mayor, "there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction between police officers and the people they are sworn to protect and serve. It’s equally important for residents to have direct access to police officials to ensure that neighborhoods know exactly how police are meeting their needs for safety."

The Mayor said he is proud of the Akron Police Department. "We have some of the best-trained, best-equipped and most dedicated law enforcement officers in Ohio, but when problems arise, all too often we don’t have the level of information in the hands of our residents that would make a difference," said the Mayor. "These two panels are intended to make sure that police and residents are sharing what they know to make the whole community safer."

A committee was first appointed to help the Akron Police Department develop a crime control plan following the publication of the Imagine.Akron report. It met from March 2001 to October, 2002 when it issued a comprehensive Crime Control Plan for Akron. In 2005, the Akron Police Department was a finalist for the nationally acclaimed Weaver-Seavey Law Enforcement Award for its work with the citizens group. The Committee stopped convening sometime after the issuance of its final report.

Many cities use advisory panels to assist police agencies in gathering information, and using them as a sounding board for policy changes.

"Just as we have advisory groups in other areas assisting city departments, such as the EMS Advisory Committee," said Mayor Plusquellic, "this Police Advisory Board will be an important resource for the police command staff to make sure that there is a connection between what’s important to neighborhoods and how police are managing safety issues. While it will have no administrative authority over the department, their impact will be a valuable continuous help to the department."

The Community Relations Division of the Akron Police Department has continued to meet occasionally with Block Club presidents. During an awards ceremony held March 28, Mayor Plusquellic solicited their support for the Crime Control Steering Committee, and more than 30 Block Club presidents volunteered to be part of the effort to re-convene.

Numerous organizations will be asked to name representatives to fill out the balance of the Steering Committee.

Nominations for membership of the Police Advisory Board will be submitted by the Mayor to City Council for their approval, which follows the same practice as his appointments to other Boards and Commissions in the city.

At his weekly press conference today, Mayor Plusquellic also reported on recent conversations he has had with officials at the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the re-funded COPS program that is part of President Obama’s American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. Plusquellic said that federal officials are telling him that present plans suggest that funds will be allocated as soon as July, which would allow Akron to hire at least 21 additional police officers this summer.

Akron has an existing list of candidates for the police department as a result of having administered tests during the week of September 15, 2008. Pursuant to the required Civil Service process - scoring of the written test and physical agility testing have been completed for many candidates, and the time required by law has passed for appeals.

The department is continuing to do the required background checks for candidates at the top of the list; about 30 have been completed. As soon as funding is confirmed, the City will make conditional offers of employment to the same number of candidates as there will be positions available, and schedule the psychological examinations. Once appointed, it takes approximately six months for cadets to complete training in the police academy.