Legislature hears pollice task force recommendations

LITTLE ROCK — A task force on law enforcement recommended that police officers get more training, more pay and more opportunities for advanced education.

The Task Force to Advance the State of Law Enforcement was appointed by the governor last summer, when many American cities were experiencing protests sparked by the death of a Minneapolis man while being arrested.

The 25 members of the task force represent law enforcement, community advocates, civic organizations, businesses and locally- elected municipal leaders. Their list of recommendations include measures that can be implemented by local and state officials. Other measures would require the approval of new laws by the legislature.

The task force recommended that law enforcement agencies seek funding so that front-line duty officers can be equipped with stateof- the-art body cameras by 2026. Police departments also would need additional computer space to store the video footage.

The task force surveyed Arkansas police departments and learned that the cost of cameras, combined with insufficient funding for computers and staff to manage the video footage, were the main reason for a lack of body cameras.

Entry salaries should be equivalent or higher than the average annual wage in Arkansas, the task force recommended. Raises should correspond to years of service, rank and responsibility. A portion of a police officer’s salary should be exempt from state income taxes.

Retirement benefits of police officers should be partially exempted from state income taxes, and disability insurance should be more affordable.

Police officers should be able to attend local statesupported colleges free of tuition, in programs similar to those available for members of the armed forces.

The task force recommended restrictions on the number of part-time officers a department could hire.

The state has already made progress on one of the task force recommendations – to maintain and expand use of Crisis Stabilization Units. The state has opened four units, where police officers can take people who are experiencing a mental health crisis. They are in Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Jonesboro and Little Rock.

People who are brought to the units get treatment from trained professionals, whereas in the past they would likely have spent a night in jail and their condition could have worsened. To best take advantage of the units, officers should be trained in how to recognize and respond to a mental health crisis.

The task force recommended more training in communications and ethics.

Officers should be trained to recognize any bias they may have, and how to inter-act with people from other cultures. That includes learning about customs, décor, religious practices and slang.

The legislature will consider a recommendation that a statewide data base keep a list of police officers who have been fired for excessive use of force or dishonesty.

Arkansas should participate in a national effort to compile data on the use of force by police officers, to provide a better understanding of overall trends.

Another recommendation is that recruits be required during training to spend time within observing and interacting with people in the community where they will work. Police departments should work with organizations in minority communities to learn how to build more trust in police officers.

Evaluations should include psychological assessments

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of aggression, bias and character, to assure that officers are emotionally fit to serve.

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JONESBORO — A team of Arkansas State University students calling themselves the A-State Science Support System, was recently selected by NASA's Office of STEM Engagement as one of five in the country to be carried out in 2022 on the International Space Station. The Student Payload Opportunity with Citizen Science (SPOCS) project will be funded with a $20,000 NASA grant.

Their proposal is described as an experiment to discover the ability of wax worms to degrade plastics in space. Knowledge gained through the ISS experiment could provide the answers for a more sustainable environment on Earth and future, long-term space travel.

The SPOCS team includes Benjamin Whitfield of Little Rock, an electrical engineering major and team leader; Landon Perdue of Brookland, Mason Rhodes of Benton and Jacob Oster of Bay, who are mechanical engineering majors; and Katherine Willis of Blue Springs, Mo., Claire Greene of Conway and Hannah Seats of Brookland, who are biological sciences majors.

Some time ago, Dr. Tom Risch, vice provost for research and technology transfer, encouraged Shea Harris, Arkansas Biosciences Institute outreach director, and Dr.

Maureen Dolan, associate professor of molecular biology and director of the biotechnology program, to form and mentor a group of student scientists to develop a SPOCS proposal.

Rebecca Oliver, director of the Honors College, helped recruit a group of sophomore honors students majoring in engineering and biology to write the proposal.

As Citizen Science partners, the team chose the Nettleton STEAM School students, who by coincidence were talking to two of the ISS astronauts on the same day they were making the SPOCS presentation. The STEAM students in third through sixth grade will perform baseline Earth-gravity controlled experiments to compare with A-State ISS experiments.

While the team developed its proposal, members did not get access to the specifications of the required container for the space station until they became a finalist in the selection process.

Now they know, the container is 10 by 10 by 15 centimeters, or about 91.5 cubic inches, so making the science payload fit in such a small space is part of their challenge. The experiment has to be completely automated; the ISS astronauts will not interact with it.

The next step for the team will be a virtual kickoff meeting on Jan. 20 where they will review NASA's timelines and milestones for the project, along with meeting mission managers and NASA mentors.