About CU Community Police Watch
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<h3 style="color: #184372; text-align: left;">Why Champaign Urbana Community Police Watch?</h3>
<p>This website was created in order to give individuals of Champaign-Urbana a space to voice their concerns about policing in the area. For years, individuals in the African-American community have complained of aggressive and disproportionate policing tactics. The 2009 killing of unarmed 15-year-old Kiwane Carrington illustrated the worst effects that this type of policing can have on individuals and the community. However, calls for changes in policing tactics and policies have been incremental at best and people are still experiencing intimidating policing in certain areas of Champaign-Urbana. Our intent is not to bash all police officers but rather give individuals a space to express their concerns. Therefore, we encourage individuals to report all stories of police interactions, whether or not they are positive or negative. By publishing their own reports, individuals are demanding their voices be heard and that the future consists of fair and respectful policing in Champaign-Urbana.</p>
<h3 style="color: #184372; text-align: left;">What does Champaign Urbana Community Police Watch do?</h3>
<p class="MsoNormal">Champaign Urbana Community Police Watch is an interactive website that illustrates policing patterns in the C-U area through individual reports of community-police interactions. On<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>the website, individuals are encouraged to report their own experiences with the police by filling out the online form or by sending an email to <a href="mailto:cucommunitypolicing@gmail.com">cucommunitypolicing@gmail.com</a>. All visitors are able to view other people’s reports either by clicking the red dots on the map located on the home page or by clicking on the “Reports” link. Individuals have the option of making their<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>reports anonymous and each report is categorized by the type of encounter with police. In addition, information on filing a formal complaint, knowing your rights, and community resources is also available on the site. We<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>encourage all visitors to share their reports of community-police interactions, be they positive or negative, so that collectively our voices can be heard and the relationship between the community and the police improve in the future.</p>
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