Ohioans Encouraged To Share Police Reform Ideas On Social Media

COLUMBUS, OH — Ohioans are being asked to use social media to submit feedback on how to reform law enforcement. Some users of the state's Facebook forum say comments there have become counterproductive and often openly racist.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost launched a Facebook group called "Be Heard By The AG" to solicit comments, experiences and suggestions about how to reform Ohio law enforcement. The project has often veered off course.

“We are listening deeply and thinking about what we are hearing,” Yost said in a statement Wednesday. “For those who would rather not wade through the hate that Facebook sometimes unleashes, we created a summary page so you can see what your fellow citizens are saying.”

The "Be Heard By The AG" Facebook group was launched June 5. Yost said he intended to use it as an open forum for Ohioans to share their opinions on how to reform or change law enforcement policy. Since the group's inception, more than 50 individual ideas have been submitted for consideration. However, vitriolic content has also been shared.

Some comments in the group have become political and divisive, with comments turning into arguments about the nature of law enforcement, the job performance of President Donald Trump and racist memes. One poster suggested Yost's team assign more administrators to monitor the group.

"There are no group rules posted," one commenter said. "No administrators to monitor the content. No interaction from the office other than a stern announcement that no one is providing accountability for. What could have been a useful tool has devolved into a platform for trolls to spread hate and trade insults, all under purview of a government office’s official response to this crisis."

Yost's team is chronicling the "useful" Facebook input on the attorney general's website. For Ohioans who don't want to wade into the social media group, suggestions can be submitted via email to BeHeardByTheAG@ohioago.gov.

Some suggestions so far include:

• Increasing mandatory training for police officers.
• Improving the state's vetting system for new police hires.
• Hiring independent prosecutors to handle police-involved issues.
• Ending sovereign immunity under state law.
• Random drug screening of police.
• Mandate that all police officers must live in the community where they work.