The city of Hammond is set to form the five new citizen advisory commissions that are part of a solution to address racial issues with the police department.
According to a release, the city is accepting applicants for the five Hammond Police and Citizens Advisory Commissions until June 1.
“Our whole purpose is to increase communication with certain communities of our city,” Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said of the effort.
The commissions, which will report to the HPCAC Central Advisory Committee, were part of a deal McDermott signed in December to address concerns about how police treat minorities, especially members of the black community, in the city. The Rev. Herman Polk, who chairs the Central Advisory Committee, could not be reached for comment.
The commissions will help handle complaints against the police department and advise on various policies and help recruit diverse police officers. But the formation of the advisory groups has not been free of criticism.
Hammond resident Carlotta Blake-King, who has been vocal in her complaints against the Hammond Police Department, has criticized a requirement that members can’t be felons or have filed a complaint or lawsuit against a law enforcement agency. Blake-King, a longtime city activist, said it will keep her and several other people with concerns about the department out of the commissions.
“Anybody who wishes to serve on that committee should be able to serve on it,” she said.
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She also questioned the decision to have the Central Advisory Committee select the first round of commission members, suggesting a lottery system might be more fair.
“There needs to be a community meeting (before the elections),” she said. “The whole process has been flawed from beginning to end.”
The start of the application procedure comes four months after the committees were first announced. McDermott said that although he was not involved in the discussions, the delay was because of the planning needed to implement the process.
The first commission members will be voted on by the Central Advisory Committee, which is made up of the members, including from the city, the Hammond NAACP and the Hammond Ministerial Alliance, which helped work out the agreement signed in November. The committee will elect members after each candidate has the chance to speak at a forum, which will be open to the public.
Residents can nominate themselves or others, as can certain civic groups including the Hammond NAACP, the HMA, the League of United Latin American Citizens Council and the Hammond Hispanic Coordinating Coalition.
Wanda Gordils, who works with the LULAC Council of Hammond and East Chicago, said no one in the group has been approached about the commissions. Representatives with the other groups could not be reached for comment.
Candidates must also include three character references and show they have performed at least five years of community service.
How to apply
Anyone interested in serving on a Hammond Police and Citizens Advisory Committee can get an application form at GoHammond.com, HammondPolice.com or in person or through the mail at the Hammond Human Relations Commission at Hammond City Hall, 5925 Calumet Ave. Completed applications should be returned to Ronald Mullins, chairman of the HRC.