The Culver City Police Department is inviting Culver residents to join a Community Meeting to discuss the 2023 Racial Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) Report, which was published in March.
The full report, which can be found on the CCPD’s website at https://www.culvercitypd.org/files/assets/police/v/1/documents/ripa-reports/2023-ripa-report.pdf, is 61 pages long so there’s a lot to digest. It does show that Culver City, with its population of 39,970, is made up of 46.7 percent white, 18.4 percent Hispanic, 18.4 percent Asian, and 8.7 percent black.
“The police power is a complex function of government that begins when community members enact laws they deem necessary to protect and improve their communities,” reads the introduction. “California community members develop and enact these laws through their elected officials at the federal, state, county, and local levels and through direct measures on which residents vote. In a democratic society, this often results in laws, measures, and ordinances being passed which some community opposed. And yet, those laws are to be applied equally to every individual, whether they supported them or not.”
The report is packed with statistics which seem to suggest that the vast majority of arrests for violent crimes were people of color who were not Culver City residents. However, the CCPD is adamant that they are not racially profiling.
“The data supports the conclusion that the CCPD officers are performing their duties in a professional and unbiased manner,” the report reads. “The CCPD Command Staff wants the members of the Culver City community to know that it wholeheartedly supports California’s efforts to eliminate racial and identity profiling in policing. As demonstrated by the scope and volume of this Report, the CCPD conducts a rigorous and comprehensive review and analysis of the data it collects regarding the demographic composition of the individuals its officers detain.”
The event takes place in the Mike Balkman Council Chambers, 9770 Culver Boulevard, Culver City, 90232 at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 4th, 2024.
“Persons unable to attend in person will have the option to attend virtually via Webex,” they say. “The Webex link will be available on the Culver City Police Department’s website under ‘Events’ on April 4th, 2024.”
