A survey is underway in Saratoga Springs that asks people about their experiences with the Saratoga Springs Police Department. The survey is sanctioned by the Saratoga Springs Police Reform Task Force, a group mandated by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order Number 203 last June.
Although activists in the city do not agree on all topics, they do agree that every city resident should take the survey.
“We should fill out the survey,” Shawn Young told viewers during a Facebook Live panel discussion of the task force on Monday Feb. 1. Young, of Schenectady, is the leader of All of Us Community Action, a group dedicated generally to social justice and to police reform. The group often disagrees with the Saratoga Springs City Council.
The panel discussed the inherent problem: people of color need to have transparency, they said.
“Could this be used against me?” panelist Chandler Hickenbottom wondered aloud. She is a member of All of Us Saratoga. “I wouldn't push a survey unless I know who’s going to be viewing it.”
At that point, in the comments section of the event, John Schroeder, the creator of the survey, explained that personally identifiable information would not travel with the survey data. And in a quick turn the panel said they were satisfied.
Or as Lexis "Elz" Figuereo put it in a subsequent interview: “John Shroeder is one of our allies.” Figuereo is a leader with All of Us, Saratoga.
Shroeder worked with the task force's Public Survey subcommittee.
“I’m always interested in what different parts of our community are saying and thinking,” Shroeder said in an interview.
He confirmed that the survey will detach identifiable information from the data as it is shared with the community, police and government. He added that the software has an “audit log” which tracks changes made to the data so that people can see if revisions were made to responses.
“The idea is complete transparency,” Shroeder said.
“The more people that take it the better,” said Jason Golub, the chair of the Police Reform Task Force. The timing, he said, was necessary, though some in All of Us wondered why the survey came so late.
Golub said for seven months the task force subcommittees have learned from community discussions and from professionals. He said this research influenced which questions to ask. The task force would have asked questions blindly, if they had created the survey early, he said.
Shaun Wiggins works on the Saratoga Springs Community Outreach Committee, a committee dedicated to talking about the very real problem of racism in Saratoga Springs, he said. They look for chances to educate, expose and eradicate racism, he said, adding that he believes the city is full of good people but needs to look for middle ground and have some difficult conversations.
He said--and this is another point of agreement from all interviewed--that the task force got off to a slow start and had to make changes in leadership. That was back in September and October, and since then the task force has been doing its job. People in All of Us agreed that the work volunteers on the task force accomplished should be appreciated.
Wiggins echoed what others said. Everyone should take the survey.
An analyst himself, he said, “It’s difficult to operate if you don’t have data.”
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Editor’s note:
- To take the survey, click here. The link to the survey on the Saratoga Springs Civic Alert page seems to be broken. The survey will remain open for about another week.
- There is one final task force meeting Wednesday Feb. 17, 5:30 via zoom.
- The task force plans to present their report during the Saratoga Springs City Council meeting on Tuesday March 2. That gives the council time to take public input and discussion, and approve a final plan on Tuesday March 16.
- The final report from the task force must be approved by the city council by April 1.
- The Saratoga Springs Community Outreach Committee is launching a speakers series this Friday, Feb. 12, by hosting a discussion with Georgetown University Professor Christopher Chambers. Topic: Bias and Racism in Education, 5:30-7p.m. Click here to sign up.
- All of Us is hosting a series of events for Black History Month. Click here to see their list.
In an earlier draft of this story, we referred to Lexis Figuereo by his nickname. His name has been corrected.