The list of recommendations provided to the city by the Turner work group included suggestions related to increasing police presence and enforcement, as well as social services.
Police presence, enforcement
Work group members said there has been a “perceived increase in downtown criminal activity,” as well as an “apparent increase in the homeless population” residing downtown.
“The downtown RTA hub has also seen an increase in all of these types of activities,” according to a list of recommendations from the work group.
Among the work group’s list of recommendations are the creation of a police force solely for the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority; real-time monitoring of the camera system downtown and direct communication with officers in the field; and enhanced coordination among police, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, private security teams and other law enforcement located downtown.
The Dayton Police Department is adding a substation in the downtown area next to the Greater Dayton RTA bus hub. The temporary substation is expected to begin operations by March in a vacant property at 30 S. Main St. that is owned by the transit agency.
The work group has also recommended a review of the Dayton Municipal Court’s structure and the creation of a downtown-only court docket overseen by judges, not magistrates.
“Officers report an unwillingness to arrest individuals because of their belief that either individuals will not be prosecuted or that inadequate enforcement in the judicial process will take place,” the work group’s recommendations stated. “Insufficient support in the judicial process creates an environment of lawlessness.”
Social services
Members of the work group said they believe many people experiencing homelessness who are located downtown are “being brought here from other communities.”
The group recommended conducting a census of downtown homelessness to determine where people come from and to “create a plan to return those who are not from our community back to the community that brought them here.”
Also recommended was the creation of an inventory of existing social programs and services, as well as a list of after-school services and programs for students who use public transit, and encouraging Dayton Public Schools “to continue to find an alternative to RTA busing.”
“These recommendations will make a positive difference in the type of activity that is happening downtown and provide an environment for continued economic development and capital investment,” the work group stated in its recommendations.
The work group noted that necessary partners for any of these recommendations include Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services, Dayton RTA, Dayton Public Schools and other agencies.
More frequent coordination on the city, county and state levels of government is also recommended — the work group suggested quarterly meetings convened by the Dayton mayor and president of the Montgomery County commission.
“In order to be successful at addressing downtown security, it is necessary to improve communication, and policy alignment between city, county, and state levels of government,” according to the work group.
Too much focus downtown?
Turner announced the work group’s recommendations earlier this month, saying a “collaborative” approach to security is needed in downtown Dayton. The group includes a mixture of elected officials representing the Dayton area, as well as business executives and other organization leaders.
Several citizens raised their concerns about the work group during the Jan. 7 city commission meeting.
Dayton resident Berkeley Moore on Wednesday continued the conversation, telling commissioners he thinks homelessness and mental health aren’t issues isolated to downtown. He also raised concerns about how a focus on downtown security will impact other parts of Dayton.
“While increasing police presence in downtown, how would that affect our neighborhood? Does that mean the police presence in other parts of the city will be decreased?” he said. “And any decisions involving Dayton Public Schools should not be made because of downtown.”
The resolution passed by commissioners asks department leaders to draft reports over the next 20 days that will brief city leaders on data and existing policies related to the recommendations.
Turner-Sloss said the recommendations from the working group serve as a “model” for reimagining public safety. The resolution does not include any financial commitment by the city, and city leaders have not signed on to every recommendation as of this week.
“We know that there are a number of troubling concerns that we have in all 65 of our neighborhoods,” said Turner-Sloss. “Know that we are all committed to doing that work.”
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