By Chris Spangler
An “excellent” number of residents responded to the recent community policing survey sponsored by the Unity Project of Fort Atkinson, organizers say.
During a virtual meeting Tuesday, the Unity Project’s Community-Police Partnership Team (CPPT) reported on participation in the survey, the actual results of which will be announced toward the end of the year.
Sue Johnson, who serves as CPPT co-chair with Kaia Fowler, opened the meeting with a caveat about what the committee is not.
“We are not about defunding the police,” she said. “We are about trying to improve relations with our community and the Fort Atkinson police, however that works, but it’s not about defunding the police. We need our police force.”
She noted that the CPPT got started about a year ago after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The conversation turned homeward to what Fort Atkinson police’s policies are regarding the use of force and de-escalation.
Among the policies posted on the Fort Atkinson Police Department website, Johnson said, are unbiased policing, use of force, mental health crisis response and community policing. Yet, the Unity Project members wanted to learn more.
Johnson shared an article in “Police Chief” magazine titled “Building Community-Police Relations by Building Community-Community Relations.” (https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/building-community-police-relations-by-building-community-community-relations/)
It focuses on the South District of Madison Police Department and what it is doing for community policing.
“They found, just like we have in Fort Atkinson, people who are fearful or maybe distrustful of the police,” Johnson explained. “That white people in the community usually completed the surveys and said ‘hey, we have no problem with our police department.’ But they weren’t getting feedback from the minority communities, and they wanted to change that.”
Johnson said the Madison police connected with various community leaders to form bridge-building teams, which then went back to their communities to learn about issues they might have with the police. They then conducted a survey.
Fort Atkinson’s CPPT modeled its August survey after Madison’s, Johnson noted.
CPPT member Gina Maxwell reported that 327 people who reside, work or are students in the School District of Fort Atkinson participated in the survey.
“I know that doesn’t sound like a lot because we are a community of 12,000-plus, but that is actually really an excellent turnout for what we were looking for,” she said. “We also had a diverse turnout. So if you happen to be one of the people who took the survey, thank you so much. We greatly appreciate it.”
The majority of survey questions were statements with multiple-choice answers. They ranged from “I trust police officers in Fort Atkinson to show respect to me and my family members” to “I hesitate to call the Fort Atkinson police because I am not sure what they will do when they arrive.”
Maxwell noted that not all respondents answered all of the questions.
“When we look at how the people who took the survey identified themselves,” she said, “we see the following results, based on the people who answered all of the questions.”
Among the survey respondents:
• 26% identified as living in a low-income household.
“For comparison, 33% of households in the School District of Fort Atkinson are qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches, so these percentages are similar to what we have in the community,” Maxwell said. “So there is a fair to good participation from the low-income households, compared to what we have in the likely percentage in the city totally.”
• 20% of respondents said that they or a member of their household identified as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
• 31% of respondents said they or a member of their household identified as having a disability.
• Women were far more likely to participate in the survey than men.
Among the survey-takers, 30% identified as male, 58% identified as female, 2% identified as non-binary and 11% preferred not to say.
“The survey succeeded in getting participants from across the racial and ethnic groups. Levels of participation from members of minority populations enabled the CPPT to reach the goal of ensuring diversity of voices represented in the survey results,” Maxwell said.
Because the survey asked respondents to check all that apply, the percentages represent the percentage of times a racial or ethnic identity was chosen compared to all choices made, she said.
Maxwell reported that respondents included less than 1 percent native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (one person); 2.3 percent Asian (seven people); 3.3 percent indigenous American or Alaskan native (10 people); 4.6 percent Black or African-American (14 people); 11.7 percent Hispanic or Latinx (36 people); and 65.8 percent white (202 people).
“Also, we had 4.9 percent religious minority and 7.2 percent other,” she added.
“Many positive experiences with the police were shared, and we have enough data that shows evidence of challenges in the relationships between the police force and the disadvantaged communities that the CPPT is recommending that we all move forward in making positive changes together,” Maxwell said.
Some of the stories shared by survey participants may be read at www.fort4all.com/commpolice.
“Some are great, some can … use some work, but that’s the whole point of what we’re doing here,” Maxwell said. “We will have more conclusive survey results by the end of the year. There is a lot of data to compile …”
Johnson said that after undertaking the survey in South Madison, representatives from each community formed a committee with the police.
“They felt very comfortable with each other and they were able to share the concerns of various members of the community and really tackle some misperceptions and issues that the police had, and they’ve developed a very good relationship now,” she said.
Johnson noted that she spoke with a young Hispanic woman, who was not from Fort Atkinson, who said she was brought up being told to fear the police, but did not know why.
“I have to wonder if we’re not dealing with some of that in Fort Atkinson, especially with our citizens who maybe are undocumented and are fearful,” she said.
Thus, the next step is to identify leaders from various social and ethnic groups to help form a committee that can work with the police to build those bridges, she announced.
Persons interested in volunteering or who would like to talk more about this are encouraged to contact Johnson or Fowler via the contact button at https://www.fort4all.com/commpolice.
The summer survey marked a first step toward a much bigger goal that fits with the Unity Project of Fort Atkinson’s mission of promoting a sense of acceptance and belonging for all members of the community.
Among its many activities, the Unity Project has partnered with local organizations to have Spanish signage included in some of the city’s parks; partnered with teachers for a fundraiser for a Hispanic child with terminal cancer; created the first Pride Day event in Fort Atkinson; has held dances focused on the differently-abled; has lobbied and achieved a statement of inclusion for the City of Fort, Atkinson; and has purchased and installed books including diverse characters in Fort Atkinson.
It also created the first bilingual festival in Fort Atkinson, which now is in its fourth year and is taking place Saturday, Sept. 18.
From noon to 4 p.m. in Jones Park, the Fort Fall Fiesta will bring together both the English and Spanish speakers of the community for an afternoon of food, music, dancing and kids’ activities.
Clive Y Afinque, a Milwaukee-based salsa band, will take the stage from noon to 3 p.m. There also will be a puppet show, bouncy obstacle course, balloon artists and other children’s activities.
The husband-and-wife team of former Milwaukee Brewers’ pitcher Jose Mieses and Whitney Townsend will emcee the event, and the Spanish language congregation of First United Methodist Church will provide authentic Hispanic specialty foods.
There also will be a hotdog stand managed by Jim Marousis and Karen Reinhardt, and Beauty & the Bean will be on site with its Baby Bean mobile unit to provide caffeine and other treats.
Starting at 3 p.m., there will be a baseball game between Utica and Vaquero, a Milwaukee-based team.
Nearly 30 local businesses will be represented at this event. Fort HealthCare is supplying masks, and hand sanitizer will be available throughout the park.
A Fort Atkinson police officer keeps the public safe by performing traffic control duties during a recent parade. Community policing and community perceptions of the police were subjects of a recent survey conducted by the Unity Project of Fort Atkinson. During a meeting Tuesday, project organizers said they received an “excellent” number of respondents to the survey. The survey results are anticipated to be released at the end of the year. File photo/Kim McDarison.
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