More than two years after Freedom to Thrive Oak Park was founded, and three years after ROYAL organized its first protest, multiple Village Boards have failed to make changes to our community safety response model in Oak Park. The newest Village Board is no different.

On Monday, October 18, 2021, the Village Board voted 6-1, to approve the police station project (of either building a new police station or renovating the existing station in Village Hall). That’s three Capital Improvement Plans in a row that have included this project, even after community members asked for the board to remove it.

The new Village Board has also approved a major contract for an “independent” consultant to review policing and provide recommendations for change. The independence of the consulting firm is sorely lacking given that most of the consulting team is ex-law enforcement.

ROYAL organizers and other advocates across the country have told us what we need to do to reimagine community safety. We need to create alternatives to police response so that when people are in crisis, they can have the treatment they need, instead of the trauma of a police response. A new JAMA Pediatrics study shows that interaction with police even when they are assisting can lead to detrimental health effects, especially for Black male youth.

Training police in bystander intervention and increasing youth interaction won’t lessen that trauma, it would perpetuate it. Moreover, research shows how increasing police presence and expanding their roles does not lead to violence prevention, instead it leads to disproportionate arrests and harassment of people of color.  Oak Park has successfully taken cops out of schools, now it's time to take the cops out of situations that they historically and presently worsen rather than help. This is why we are advocating that the Village Board follow the direction of Evanston, Eugene, Ore., Austin and many other cities, and create a non-police crisis response team in Oak Park.

Specifically, we’re asking the Village Board to set aside funds in the FY2022 budget to create this program. The set-aside of funds is the first step and a commitment from this Village Board to create a non-police crisis response team in Oak Park.

We are asking YOU to send in a public comment at any one of the upcoming budget board meetings (Nov. 1, 8, 11, 15, & Dec 6), or write an op-ed in the Wednesday Journal expressing your support for the creation of a non-police crisis response team in Oak Park.

To send in a public comment, email the board at PublicComment@oak-park.us, and write in the subject “Comment on FY2022 Budget”. You must send in your public comments before the following meetings: Nov 1, 8, 11, 15, and for the final budget meeting on Dec 6.

To write into the Wednesday Journal, you can send in a letter to the editor here.

Please share, talk to your neighbors, and get the word out. Let’s organize and push for this vital and needed change in Oak Park!

We’ve included some resources below where you can learn more about the need for non-police crisis response teams and the process that other cities have used to create these teams.

Resource/Article List

A Guide to Alternative Mental Health Responses - Interrupting Criminalization 

A CHECKLIST FOR ASSESSING MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE MODELS - Interrupting Criminalization 

Study shows contact with police may be detrimental to health, well-being of Black youth

Evanston Alternative Emergency Response Subcommittee

Los Angeles Alternative Crisis Response

In Montana, Crisis Support Teams Offer Alternatives To Policing Mental Health