To promote amicable relations among various racial and cultural
groups, to ameliorate conditions that strain inter-group relations,
and correct actions that violate the civil rights of individuals.
The Community Relations Board is responsible for improving cross-cultural
relationships throughout Cleveland, which reflects a wide diversity
of racial, ethnic, and religious heritage. More than 117 cultures
are represented in the City of Cleveland.
The Community Relations Board implements proactive activities
that promote diversity and unity. It responds to residents’ complaints,
investigates sources of community conflict, and provides planning
assistance to residents and organizations for resolving neighborhood
concerns. The board strongly believes in the value and importance
of cultural openness and diversity as it relates to the well-being
and future development of the City of Cleveland.
Program activities focus on the most commonly identified concerns
of the community, which include police-community cooperation, culturally
and socially segregated housing patterns, and relationships involving
our schools, youth, and neighborhood residents. Primary functions
include:
Coordinating police-citizen committees;
Mediation and conciliation services;
Helping to plan and promote neighborhood community and human
relations development activities;
Administering the City’s law enforcement and community
assistance protocol for the prevention of ethnic intimidation
and response to victims;
Promoting multicultural arts and education events;
Monitoring the police professional standards and practices
policy;
Planning and facilitating human relations training for police,
city employees, and community groups; and
Coordinating multicultural dialogue groups.
The Community Relations Board accomplishes these efforts through
three primary areas: Community Outreach, Human Relations Training
and Community Education, and Special Events.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Community Outreach promotes cultural harmony in the City of Cleveland
by helping residents implement proactive strategies for resolving
community concerns and developing mechanisms for people of all
religious, racial, or ethnic backgrounds to cooperatively improve
the quality of life citizen-to-citizen, neighborhood-to-neighborhood,
and build sustainable relationships from Cleveland to the world.
Community Outreach performs a number of activities, including
the following:
Provide planning assistance for groups and agencies who seek
to promote positive social and cultural relationships in the
community. Investigate the sources and conditions of complaints
that are disruptive to the quality of life in our city neighborhoods,
especially when race, religion, or ethnic background are motivating
factors.
Coordinate city services that positively impact the resolution
of social and cultural conflict in racial violence and intimidation
in coordination with the police, the prosecutor’s office,
the municipal and county courts, and support service agencies.
Coordinate resident and organizational involvement in neighborhood
biracial and multicultural dialogue groups.
Maintain connection with individuals and groups interested
in addressing the concerns and serving the special needs of Cleveland’s
Hispanic, Asian-Pacific Island, and Native American communities.
Investigate and provide referrals for any complaint of discrimination
based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, family status,
or ethnic heritage.
Provide conciliation services on referral from citizens, community
organizations and institutions, the police, and other city agencies.
HUMAN RELATIONS TRAINING AND COMMUNITY
EDUCATION
This area of Community Relations supports and directs Board members
and staff in fulfilling the community relations goals of the Board
and city government in part by helping to develop the skills of
city employees and community groups to increase community cooperation
and minority participation in the productive life of the city.
It further strives to reduce racial and cultural stereotypes that
create social inequities, conflicts, and instability. It accomplishes
these objectives through numerous activities, including:
Design overall training program and curriculum.
Provide human relations in-service training for police and
city employees.
Conduct human relations workshops for community groups and
agencies.
Provide mediation training for community and youth serving
organizations and schools.
Provide research evaluation, planning, and program administration.
Conduct Community Relations Board meetings, subcommittees,
and special hearings.
Coordinate community forums, conferences, and cultural events.
Review and evaluate existing community resources for mediations,
human relations training, and youth intervention.
POLICE/COMMUNITY COOPERATION AND SPECIAL
EVENTS
This area of Community Relations creates and strengthens mechanisms
for cooperation between citizens and police in part by enhancing
the professional skills of police officers to incorporate the community
as a resource for effective law enforcement. It also heightens
police and citizen awareness of their roles and responsibilities
related to the perception of public safety and the performance
of law enforcement. To accomplish those objectives it uses many
different activities, including:
Administer police district citizen committees and zone meetings.
Monitor the investigative standards and complaint practices
of police.
Coordinate Crime Prevention Fairs for the Division of Police.
Provide human relations in-service training for police.
Conduct community workshops, training, and conferences on safety
and law enforcement.
Coordinate the annual Cleveland Night Out Against Crime in
conjunction with the national observance.
