Cupertino hosting community forum on policing this Thursday

The City of Cupertino’s Public Safety Commission will hold a community forum on policing this Thursday, December 17 at 6pm featuring the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. The event is part of a series of community conversations covering topics such as mental health, the block leader program, policing and fire protection. Representatives from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office will provide a review of crime updates from the past year.  To register for this event, click here.

West Valley Patrol Division deputies provide a full range of law enforcement responsibilities including patrol, traffic enforcement, investigative services, school resource officers, neighborhood resource officers, K-9 services and special enforcement assignments. Deputies prioritize modern strategies such as community-oriented policing and predictive policing, as well as innovative and progressive initiatives geared toward enhancing quality of life measures.

Previous forums on policing took place in June and July of this year, in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and related protests that sparked a national re-evaluation of the role of police forces. On June 22, Captain Ricardo Urena answered questions relating to racial profiling and discrimination, use of force, conflict resolution best practices, community service officers and school resource officers, budget and spending, neighborhood watch, police conduct investigation procedures, officer training and COVID-19 impacts. Responses to questions from the June 22 meeting are available here. Superintendent Polly Bove, Interim Superintendent Stacy McAfee-Yao and Deputy Superintendent Graham Clark also joined the event on July 8, 2020.

The next community forum event, featuring the Santa Clara County Fire District, will be held on January 21, 2021 from 6 to 8pm.