Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Provincetown are held in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting you want to attend on the calendar at provincetown-ma.gov for a link to an agenda and details. All meetings are at Town Hall unless otherwise noted.
Thursday, April 11
- Water and Sewer Board, 2 p.m., Veterans Memorial Community Center
- Open Space Committee, 4 p.m.
- Provincetown Public Pier Corp. Board, 5 p.m.
- Planning Board, 6 p.m.
Monday, April 15
- Town Hall closed for Patriots’ Day
Tuesday, April 16
- Visitor Services Board, 1 p.m.
- Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, April 17
- Historic District Commission, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 18
- Board of Health, 4 p.m.
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m.
Conversation Starter
Bias-Free Policing
Provincetown’s police officers, including the dispatchers and police chief, will take an eight-hour “bias-free policing” class on either April 23 or 24, Town Manager Alex Morse told the select board this week.
Subjects in the course include anonymous call scenarios and securing accurate descriptions from callers.
Morse told the board that the trainer, John Moore, had been briefed on two recent incidents in town: the handcuffing of a minor, a young man of color, at the town’s East End basketball courts last June, and the police dept.’s reluctance to engage with J-1 students who alleged their landlord had committed crimes, including entering their unit and stealing from them, last summer.
“Have there been any changes in policy from the J-1 interactions?” asked select board member Leslie Sandberg. “Because I don’t necessarily see that as bias, although perhaps it is, but more a lack of understanding for the police force that we need to help people when they come forward.”
“Every police car now has a packet of information related to this incident as a resource for the officers,” said Morse. “There have also been debriefings in the roll call room on opportunities that were missed.”
Sandberg said she wanted to know if policies had been changed to encourage officers to be more responsive.
Assistant Town Manager Dan Riviello said he would report back on the policy question after the training sessions later this month. —Paul Benson
