MVFREE Partners with Mill Valley to End Race-Based Calls to Police

As we have previously reported, Police Department call data for June 2021 – May 2022 revealed that Mill Valley community members called the police about Black people at nearly 20 times the rate they did about White people—and in most of those calls, police found no cause for citation or arrest.

This month, the City of Mill Valley and MVFREE are jointly launching a public awareness campaign to remind everyone:

A person’s race or appearance is NEVER a proper basis for calling the police.

This message will appear in press releases and throughout the community in fliers, mailers, emails, government and community meetings and will be accompanied by a list of emergency and community service providers.

None of us wants to believe we are influenced by racial bias, but all of us have implicit biases. Living in a community where one race predominates can reinforce unconscious assumptions based on race. Police in Mill Valley have seen many instances of this where, for example, a neighbor sees a person of color out for a walk and reports them as suspicious or dangerous solely because of their race. In law enforcement, this is called Bias by Proxy.

Bias by Proxy is unlawful, it is dangerous, and it hurts everyone. When police respond to a bias-based call, it undermines legitimacy and community trust in law enforcement. Bias by Proxy misdirects the power and authority of police and can have grave personal consequences for those who are wrongly targeted. Black and Brown community members who are needlessly and repeatedly scrutinized by police experience Mill Valley as a dangerous and hostile environment. This reinforces historic patterns of racial segregation that deprive our community of the rich diversity that the Bay Area has to offer.

Please review, print and share this flier and help us put an end to race based calls to the police in our community.