Police Community Advisory Board

Police Community Advisory Board (PCAB) to the Essex Police Department

As an independent board, the PCAB’s purpose is to facilitate communication between the Essex Junction community and the Essex Police Department (EPD) and provide feedback and support to the EPD on strategies and policy, especially around issues of equity. Central to this stated purpose is an emphasis on ensuring the voices and needs of systemically marginalized, disenfranchised and oppressed members of the community are heard with regard to public safety.  

Board Structure & Requirements

The PCAB is a committee with equal representation from the Town of Essex and the City of Essex Junction. The PCAB is intended to include 3 residents from the Town of Essex and three residents from the City of Essex Junction. Individuals selected to serve on the PCAB will be asked to commit to a 2- or 3-year term to allow for continuity.  

• Must be a resident of the Town of Essex or the City of Essex Junction. 
• Must be 16 years of age or older
• Interested in public safety
• Be a good communicator
• Support the mission, vision and goals of the CAB
• Be able to attend the majority of meetings (at least 80%)

Mission Statement

Our mission is to represent the diverse community of the Town of Essex and the City of Essex Junction in facilitating a positive, trusting, and effective relationship with the Essex Police Department (EPD). The Police Community Advisory Board representatives will advocate for the systemically marginalized, disenfranchised and oppressed members of the community. The PCAB will provide honest and open feedback and serve as a conduit between law enforcement and the community to support the EPD in continuously meeting the highest standards of engagement, professional service, and protection. 

Vision

We envision a safe environment where residents and visitors experience a strong positive trusting relationship between the community and law enforcement, maximizing the EPD’s ability to serve its community effectively. 

Goals

• Break down barriers, generate trust, establish or improve relationships and foster understanding and communication between the Essex Town and City of Essex Junction communities and law enforcement.
• Foster active and robust participation, creativity and vision, and diverse representation among the PCAB members. Diverse representation includes diversity based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion/creed, and socioeconomic status, among others.
• Foster better policing by understanding the issues of the systemically marginalized, disenfranchised and oppressed members of the Essex Town and City of Essex Junction communities.
• Ensure application of equal protection under the law. 

Description

The EPD’s Community Advisory Board is an independent board made up of diverse community representatives, established in collaboration with the Chief of Police and EPD, whose primary goal will be to foster transparency and trust through:

1. Facilitating communication between the Essex community and the EPD. 
2. Supporting the EPD on strategies and policy, especially around issues of equity. 

The Essex PCAB fosters two-way communication between the community and the EPD. As a resource, the PCAB will assist in informing the community at large about the function and role of the EPD, as well as informing community members about department news, information, and updates. The PCAB also serves as a conduit for voicing community needs and concerns around police services. In its capacity as an advisory committee, the PCAB is intended to be an expression of the communities’ viewpoints. As such, when police-related incidents occur, the PCAB will continue to serve as an independent voice for the community in response to such incidents. The EPD will partner with the PCAB, to the extent they are able, to provide sufficient information surrounding police-related incidents to facilitate and allow for community feedback. 

As an advising resource for the Chief and EPD, the PCAB will continuously seek to learn about and understand the EPD’s policies, procedures, and practices. To facilitate this understanding, the EPD will provide the PCAB with relevant policies, procedures and practice updates, as well as quarterly and annual summaries of statistics such as the number of police uses of force, the number of police pursuits, crime rates, the number of citizen complaints received. Demographic data including race and other variables will be included in the provision of statistics to help monitor for potential biases in police work within the EPD. The PCAB will provide advisory feedback designed to support police-community relations, improve EPD’s operations, and address public safety issues to further enhance the quality of life in the community. 

As identified by the EPD and the PCAB, the PCAB will focus on contemporary challenges that impact the community and its Police Department. Examples of topics include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Use of force
• Mental health response
• Criminal activity and trends
• Transparency
• Referrals to the Community Justice Center and other related restorative practices
• Best recruitment and retention practices
• Obstacles to effectively combating drug and gun crimes
• Support the EPD’s Community Liaison staff
• Support crime victims 

City Police Community Advisory Board Members:

• Christina Hagestad
• Leandro Duque Garcia

Contact the Police Community Advisory Board: EPD.AdvisoryBoard@ essex.org

Staff Representative
Anthony Jackson-Miller, EPD Community Affairs and Public Information Officer
(802) 857-0083, ajacksonmiller@essexvt.org