A new mentoring program for city youth, appointing paid “community ambassadors” to serve as liaisons between city government and residents and increasing support for existing anti-domestic violence initiatives are among the recommendations contained in an action plan developed by a consultant hired to design a police reform program for Kingston. The report also recommends that the city set aside $1 million over five years to implement the plan.

The plan grew out of an executive order issued by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin. The directive from Albany ordered every municipality in the state with a police force to convene a citizens’ panel to come up with community-specific programs to reduce crime while combating systemic racism, excessive force and other issues in law enforcement. In April 2021, based on the local panel’s findings, the city hired consultant Lester Strong’s “Peaceful Guardians” program and Edward Lawson, a professor of Black Studies at SUNY New Paltz to design an action plan with specific programs, objectives and a timeline for implementation. Mayor Steve Noble also included $100,000 to support the program in the city’s 2022 budget.

This week, Noble sent the plan to the Common Council for review and discussion. Last week, Noble praised the work already done by the Kingston Police Department to implement more forward-thinking policies but said the reform plan was a needed next step in the process of rebuilding trust with the city’s communities of color.

“Just like every community across the nation — in acknowledgement of the countless people of color who have died or suffered at the hands of law enforcement — we recognize that a confidence has been broken, and repairs must be made to gain trust,” wrote Noble. “I know the men and women of our police department are ready to do that work, because protecting their community is their utmost priority. I am grateful for a willing police force that is nimble and wants to excel.”

The proposal includes a one-year plan for programs that could be rolled out as soon as this fall and a five-year program to build out the initiative’s core elements. Among the initiatives recommended for quick implementation are a community engagement program dubbed “I Get It.” The effort would attempt to “imbue the community with the firm conviction that public safety is every citizen's responsibility.” The initiative includes public meetings, workshops and other efforts designed to teach residents, businesses and organizations how to help promote public safety. Participants would receive special badges and bumper stickers. The I Get It program would also recruit and train “community ambassadors” who would act as paid go-betweens between specific neighborhoods and communities and police or other city agencies.

Another branch of the action plan would take aim at domestic and community violence by providing resources for and collaborating with existing programs like the county District Attorney’s Office’s Intimate Partner Violence Initiative and a county-based crime victims assistance program. The initiative would also develop a guide to local professional, government and nonprofit services and work to increase community participation in programs focused on “healing, public health, education, mental health, and other programs not traditionally viewed as part of the criminal justice system.”

A separate set of initiatives would focus on Kingston’s youth with increased collaboration between city government and youth service organizations like the Boys and Girls Club and the Center for Creative Education. Among the programs objectives are creating opportunities for mentorship and ensuring that young city residents are given a voice in community discussions. The report also recommends developing a program to encourage young people to consider a career in policing, public service or elected office.

A final recommendation in the Peaceful Guardians report is already in progress. Last month, the Common Council approved a plan by Noble to create a mental health mobile response team. The team will be integrated into the Kingston Fire Department and would consist of a paramedic and a licensed mental health professional equipped with an ambulance. The team would respond to calls for people experiencing mental health crises that did not involve domestic violence or other threats to public safety.

The Peaceful Guardians plan calls for the Common Council to allocate $200,000 each year over the next five years to implement and build out the program. The Common Council’s Laws and Rules Committee is expected to take up discussion of the proposal later this month.