Captain Kelly said they haven’t really had any clear incidents reported to them. Next to come up is another issue on everybody’s mind: hate crimes. The newly reformed Race Relations Council, a citizen advisory group made up of diverse community members is a step in the right direction that helps make sure that the Police force is hearing from everyone. Working to make sure new Lowellians know their rights is a priority, as is avoiding discrimination and implicit bias at work in the actions of officers. They also try hard to do outreach to new groups, including building a good relationship with the Islamic Society of Greater Lowell. Another representative, following up on that, suggested more translation at community meetings.Īdditional questions along these lines clarified that they just hired their first Arabic speaking officer. If someone calls in needing help from the police, it’s challenging in Lowell to cover all languages, but they have access to resources. If someone is being interviewed by the police, they do have the right to be interviewed in their own language. He did go on to say that, though he had no strong opinion about it, he thought that the current system works well and didn’t really see further steps as necessary.Ī representative from the International Institute asked for clarification about access to interpreters. Chief Taylor had clearly anticipated this question, and he explained that, as far as he’s concerned, that’s a question for the City Council. The question was raised by a representative from the emerging group Solidarity Lowell. Right out of the gate, the first question was about this possibility, and it came up several more times. Efforts like this are one of the things people are describing when they talk about becoming a “Sanctuary City” which actively tries to protect people living there from federal government deportation. Other cities, including Lawrence, have passed a “Trust Act” which limits their collaboration with ICE. The police in Lowell do collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when ICE reaches out to them, but they don’t routinely reach out to them to try to remove otherwise law-abiding members of the community. However, when they arrest someone, they do run a check, and it’s likely that problems would come up there. They say they don’t routinely run immigration checks in any of those cases. In essence: regardless of your immigration status, the police want you to feel comfortable reporting a crime, calling emergency services, or asking for help. Then he read a prepared statement, clarifying the LPD’s policy on immigration status. (Image courtesy Lowell PD’s Facebook)Ĭhief William Taylor, dressed in a suit and Christmas tie, started things off by introducing the officers in the room, as well as a representative from the FBI and State’s Attorney’s office.
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