Rob Young, vice president for finance and administration at Wittenberg, was recently selected by the City of Springfield and the City Commission to serve on the newly formed Community Police Advisory Team (CPAT).
The team is comprised of nine community leaders who are Springfield residents including Young, Jeannette Anderson, James Bacon, Lisa Dunn, Lisa Henry, Ramona Henry, Lauren Kelley, Ravi Khanna, and Otis Williams.
This new group will help the community engage with the Springfield Police Division (SPD), assist with reviewing and recommending policy changes, make recommendations concerning matters affecting the SPD鈥檚 relationship with the community, review use of force incidents, recommend types of equipment, serve as an additional outlet for citizen concerns, and work with City Manager Bryan Heck, Wittenberg class of 2006, as well as Springfield Mayor Warren Copeland, professor emeritus of social ethics and religion at Wittenberg.
"Partnering with the City of Springfield in this capacity is an honor,鈥� Young said. 鈥淲ittenberg is proud to call Springfield its home, and I look forward to joining with other city leaders to provide insight and recommendations that benefit our community.鈥�
Formed earlier this year, the CPAT aims to revive the former Police Community Relations Advisory Group that has been dormant over the years. The CPAT was created in August in lieu of recent protests and officer-related deaths around the country.
Members were chosen from applications submitted to the City and appointed by Copeland with approval by the Springfield City Commission. Each will serve a three-year term and be required to complete the City鈥檚 Citizen Police Academy, receive education on the current SPD operations, and be familiar with the policy and procedures manual. The group鈥檚 first meeting will take place in mid-December via Zoom.
In July, the Clark County Sheriff鈥檚 Office and county commissioners created the Clark County Law Enforcement Advisory Team, a group that is tasked with the same work for the county.
