Councilwoman advocating for cultural competency measurement for police

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—South Bend Common Council member Regina Williams-Preston was live in studio on Monday morning to advocate for the use of a cultural competency measurement tool within the police department by the end of the week.

The push comes after Sunday’s town hall meeting, hosted by Mayor Pete Buttigieg following the June 16 fatal shooting of Eric Logan by South Bend Police Sgt. Ryan O’Neill.

“We really do need to hear more voices in the community. We need to figure out a way to connect with people on a larger scale so that we can get those feelings and input for the purpose of decision-making,” Williams-Preston said.

Restorative justice practices, a citizen’s review board, and a cultural competency measurement tool were all mentioned by Williams-Preston as ways the city can work with the community.

Williams-Preston plans to propose a resolution at Monday night’s Common Council meeting that she hopes will broaden the discussion and provide a forum for conversation around cultural competency. She is actively advocating for the use of the Intercultural Development Inventory, a measurement tool for cultural competency, in the police force by the end of the week.

“The work is proven to provide a baseline measure so we get a baseline measure so we get a sense of how people fall around the scale of cultural competency. It’s actually a measure and an opportunity to better understand where we are so we can help guide training to help produce results,” Williams-Preston said. “We all have work to do; no matter what race, what color, so this is something we can do that is research based and tangible.”

Williams-Preston represents South Bend’s 2nd district on the Common Council.