Here in 2020 we are battling more than just a pandemic, we are battling social injustice.
Photo taken by Lilian Michelle Photography
In uncertain times like these, it can be very overwhelming on how you can do your part to fight these social injustices. Questions like “do I or do I not rally? Do I or do I not post on my social media?” are running through your brain. You’re constantly wondering if you’re saying the right thing. You want to help but don’t know how. That’s okay. You should have these questions running through your mind, it means you’re standing up for those who have been silenced over and over again.
Luckily two local women, Lauren R. & Erin D., in our community have put together a local advocacy guide for those living in Utah. They worked tirelessly to create this document for you to reach out to all of the proper state and government officials here in Utah. They’ve even created simple documents you don’t even need to type up. Just copy and paste and you’re good to go.
Take a look, see how you can make a difference in our community today by letting your voice and the voice of those affected be heard!
Please keep in mind that the samples provided below are not to rule. If you feel that a call to action or statement has been left out, please edit, revise, and share your additions. You can read the full document for the Advocacy Guide, here.
How-to: an Advocacy Guide
We are living through many historical moments in 2020. A global pandemic, natural disasters, racial crises, and more. You are so strong!
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, helpless, or even just unsure of how to react to the ongoing racial crisis like many of us, below is a way to make your voice be heard by people who hold power to change current policies. If you do not know where to start but want to make your voice heard you can be a part of making a change by sending emails to even one of the following people in leadership. Emailing these leaders is just a starting point in hopes to make more voices heard.
We also acknowledge that police brutality against black and brown folks is just one-way systemic racism surfaces. This document focuses specifically on police brutality inflicted on black people and other minorities. While this is not the final answer to end long-standing systemic racism, it is a step we can take to move toward equity.
Please keep in mind that the provided samples are not the rule. If the samples below do not serve you or you feel that a call to action or statement was left out please edit, revise, and share your additions.
POLICE FORCES
Salt Lake City Police website– https://www.slcpd.com/
Salt Lake City Police Chief- Mike Brown– [email protected]
Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office– https://slsheriff.org/
Salt Lake County Sheriff- Rosie Rivera- [email protected]
IF YOU DO NOT LIVE IN SALT LAKE CITY PROPER:
Contact info can be found on your jurisdiction’s website by googling either your county or city police department. They may have a general contact email address or you may be able to locate the email address of the police chief.
Dear __________,
My name is _______ and I live in _________. I am concerned about issues within our police forces that lead to higher rates of death by officers for black and brown people.
As police chief, how are you currently holding your officers accountable? How are you working to build trust within communities, especially in communities of black and brown people? How are you creating an anti-racist climate within your department, instead of just avoiding individual racism? How are you implementing the use of less-than-lethal weapons?
I ask that you would create a ban on knee holds and chokeholds as an acceptable practice for police officers.
I ask that your department employ The Use of Force Continuum and ensure that there are at least 6 levels of steps, with clear rules of escalations.
I ask that our Open Records Act include police officer misconduct information. I ask that you implement a Citizen’s Review Board in your department to hold departments accountable and to build public trust and confidence.
I ask that you implement Recertification Credentials for all officers on a regular basis and ensure that the police officers who use unwarranted deadly force or officers who demonstrate explicit racism are denied these credentials.
I anticipate your response at your earliest convenience addressing these questions and my requests.
Thank you,
___________
OR
Dear _________,
My name is _______ and I live in _________. I am concerned about the lack of information I could find about your police force’s training regarding evidence-based de-escalation techniques and implicit bias, as well as the lack of information about on-duty officer body cameras. Can you please clarify what your policies are?
As a concerned member of your community, I call on you to implement mandatory, evidence-based training regarding de-escalation techniques and implicit bias for all of your police force. I also call on you to implement a policy that all on-duty officers wear a body camera that is turned ON at all times.
I anticipate your response.
Thank you,
__________
MAYORS
Erin Mendenhall – Salt Lake City –[email protected]
Jenny Wilson – Salt Lake County- [email protected]
If you don’t know who your mayor is or you want to share this information with someone who does not live in Salt Lake City or Salt Lake County: https://www.usmayors.org/mayors/meet-the-mayors/
Dear _______,
I am a constituent of yours in ______ (city or county). I am writing to you to show my support for city-wide policies that mandate our police force to employ mandatory de-escalation techniques training, implicit bias training, and the use of less-than-lethal weapons. I call on you to implement a policy that all on-duty officers wear a body camera that is turned ON at all times.
I am concerned about the excessive force that some police officers have been using in order to make arrests. I am wondering what steps you are taking to reduce the lethal force used within our police department and policies?
I ask that you would create a ban on knee holds and chokeholds as an acceptable practice for police officers.
I ask that you mandate police departments to employ The Use of Force Continuum and ensure that there are at least 6 levels of steps, with clear rules of escalations.
I ask that our Open Records Act include police officer misconduct information. I ask that you implement a Citizen’s Review Board in your department to hold departments accountable and to build public trust and confidence.
I ask that you implement Recertification Credentials for all officers on a regular basis and ensure that the police officers who use unwarranted deadly force or officers who demonstrate explicit racism are denied these credentials.
I ask that you re-evaluate your 2020-2021 fiscal year budget and reduce the amount allocated to police and distribute those funds to other community resources such as mental health, education, immigration, transportation, and homelessness.
At your earliest convenience, I anticipate a response from you about how you will support these and enact these initiatives in our community.
Thank you,
____________
UTAH LEGISLATORS
Find your Utah representatives here: https://le.utah.gov/GIS/findDistrict.jsp
If you don’t live in Utah or want to share this information with someone outside the state: find your legislators by going to https://www.congress.gov/state-legislature-websites, clicking on the state they would like to advocate for, and searching the legislator tab on the website they were directed too (most states have a legislators tab).
Dear _______,
I am a constituent of yours in district __. I am writing to you to show my support for state-wide policies that mandate our police force to employ mandatory de-escalation techniques training, implicit bias training, and the use of less-than-lethal weapons. I call on you to implement a policy that all on-duty officers wear a body camera that is turned ON at all times.
I am concerned about the excessive force that some police officers have been using in order to make arrests. I am wondering what steps you are taking to reduce the lethal force used within our police department and policies? I am asking for police reform, police accountability, and transparency from our lawmakers.
I ask that you would create a ban on knee holds and chokeholds as an acceptable practice for police officers.
I ask that your department employ The Use of Force Continuum and ensure that there are at least 6 levels of steps, with clear rules of escalations.
I ask that our Open Records Act include police officer misconduct information. I ask that you implement a Citizen’s Review Board in your department to hold departments accountable and to build public trust and confidence.
I ask that you implement Recertification Credentials for all officers on a regular basis and ensure that the police officers who use unwarranted deadly force or officers who demonstrate explicit racism are denied these credentials.
I ask that in the upcoming legislative session, you advocate to reduce the fiscal amount allocated in the state budget to police and to distribute those funds to other community resources such as mental health, education, immigration, transportation, and homelessness.
At your earliest convenience, I anticipate a response from you about how you will support these initiatives in the upcoming legislative session.
Thank you,
__________
FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES
Senators:
Mitt Romney Contact: https://www.romney.senate.gov/contact
Mike Lee: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact
Or if you live outside of Utah, you can find their name and their website here: https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm
Congressmen:
Look up your House representative https://www.house.gov/representatives
If you are interested, sign this petition (created by Black Lives Matter Utah) calling for federal legislation for police reform.
Dear ____,
I am a constituent of yours in Utah. I am writing to you to show my support for nation-wide policies that mandate our police force to employ mandatory de-escalation techniques training, implicit bias training, and the use of less-than-lethal weapons. I call on you to implement a policy that all on-duty officers wear a body camera that is turned ON at all times.
I am concerned about the excessive force that some police officers have been using in order to make arrests. I am wondering what steps you are taking to reduce the lethal force used within our states’ police department and policies? I am asking for police reform, police accountability, and transparency from our lawmakers.
I ask that you would create a ban on knee holds and chokeholds as an acceptable practice for police officers.
I ask that your department employ The Use of Force Continuum and ensure that there are at least 6 levels of steps, with clear rules of escalations.
I ask that states’ Open Records Act include police officer misconduct information. I ask that you implement a Citizen’s Review Board in your department to hold departments accountable and to build public trust and confidence.
I ask that you implement Recertification Credentials for all officers on a regular basis and ensure that the police officers who use unwarranted deadly force or officers who demonstrate explicit racism are denied these credentials.
I ask that in the upcoming legislative session, you advocate to reduce the fiscal amount allocated in the national budget allocated to police and to distribute those funds to other resources such as state investment in public health and human service efforts, education, immigration, transportation, and housing and urban development.
At your earliest convenience, I anticipate a response from you about how you will support these initiatives in the upcoming legislative session.
Thank you,
___________
CONTACT INFO:
To contact document creators, email [email protected].
Would you like to take further action?
