department should hire the best candidates regardless of gender or race. Mr. Turben hopes that the Public Safety Department continues to aggressively enforce traffic laws. He closed his comments by stating that he does not know the motivation of the ABLE project or Dr. Hurley, but that their conclusions do not represent the Oakwood he knows. In the 30 years that he has lived in Oakwood, he has not experienced or seen discrimination.

Sam Dorf, 101 Oak Knoll Drive, shared that he was struck by this evening’s council agenda. He commented that the Oakwood Public Safety Department does a fantastic job keeping the City and citizens safe. That said, he disagrees with City Council’s reading of the ABLE report because he believes that implementing some policy changes would have a positive impact on the Oakwood community, and the perception of Oakwood. Mr. Dorf pointed out the reference of a “new Oakwood” in Rabbi Mangel’s letter. It is important to recognize that changes are occurring in Oakwood, but Oakwood is still young. Mr. Dorf closed his comments by urging City Council to develop a task force to discuss issues involving community diversity and inclusion.

Grant Neeley, 123 Oak Knoll Drive, commented that the random license checks are in no way random. He opined that the stops must be done through some type of system in place. He said that the ABLE report was admittedly incomplete, but a casual observer notices the preponderance of the people pulled over are African American.

Leslie Picca, 317 Dellwood Avenue, stated that the diversity concerns being raised are not about anti-policing. There is qualitative data that some people, particularly African Americans, do not feel safe in Oakwood. This hurts all of us in Oakwood. Ms. Picca shared that while working on the UD campus, she has heard that Oakwood is perceived by many as a racist community. She suggested that inclusivity training not only be provided to the Public Safety Department, but also to City Council as well.

Ellen Walters, 474 Lookout Ridge, shared that she has been a resident for over 56 years and that members of her family have been pulled over and ticketed multiple times since they have lived in Oakwood. She does not feel that traffic enforcement is specific to race. She stated that if people do not learn to obey the laws, they can deal with the consequences. Oakwood does have a reputation for strictly enforcing traffic laws, but she does not feel that diversity is an issue. We are a walking, jogging, biking community and following traffic laws is imperative. She added that if UD professors feel that diversity perceptions are a problem, they should try to set the record straight with their students. Oakwood’s superior Public Safety Department does a great job protecting the citizens of Oakwood. She closed her comments by thanking the officers.

Steve Walters, 474 Lookout Ridge, shared that he concurs with City Council’s results. He shared a few of his experiences with the Public Safety Department. He stated that overall, he is extremely happy with the public safety services and he would like strict traffic enforcement to continue.

John Enis, 233 Wisteria Drive, shared that he had been in the Air Force and lived in many different places and that Oakwood is a very nice city. Oakwood is safe, while the surrounding cities have much higher crime rates. That’s not by chance. It is because we enforce traffic laws. The ABLE report makes observations correlative, but the measuring of bias is unclear. He said that it is unsettling that people are so willing to accept the accusation of bias. That is offensive unless you have strong data to support it. There is a well-known police theory called broken window policing. When you see graffiti in an area, you tend to feel uncomfortable, not because the graffiti may necessarily be offensive, but rather because of the lawlessness that it represents. Aggressive policing of small crimes helps to prevent large crimes from happening. He shared a few recent news stories where policing had positive results. He believes the biggest danger of the ABLE report is if policing efforts are reduced. Mr. Enis suggested that City Council should consider increasing police enforcement and adding traffic cameras.

Tony Smith, 11 Dellwood Avenue, shared that he has lived in Oakwood for many years. He has experienced respectful and courteous Public Safety Officers. He shared a story about how he was stopped by an Oakwood Safety Officer for running in the street. The officer was very courteous and very respectful and was concerned for his safety. The officer stated that the safety department had received some phone calls about how he ran. People want him to be more careful. He said that it is possible that concerns noted in the ABLE report do not stem from Public Safety, but from community expectations and diversity acceptance.

Meghan Henning, 951 E. Schantz Avenue, thanked City Council for their response. She then thanked the Public Safety Department. She does not feel that the ABLE report, or citizens focusing on diversity, are anti-Oakwood or anti-police. With some of the comments made this evening, she has noted some feelings of defensiveness. All people have biases, that is normal. She asked City Council to work with the community to make changes and to not be defensive.