Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Greene County Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative will hold its first public meeting next week. It is the second time the group has met, but the first time it has gathered in public. The group was created in August in response to a state executive order requiring all government entities with a police agency to conduct a dedicated review of policy and procedures. The committees are charged with developing an improvement plan to address the needs of individual communities. In Greene County, the Collaborative is focused on matters pertaining to the county sheriff’s office. Rabbi Zoe B. Zak of Temple Israel, a member of the committee, said the public meeting is an important part of the process. “The committee wanted to make this second meeting of ours public to make sure that we’re including the public and the public’s voice right from the beginning,” Zak said. “It’s a great opportunity for us all to contribute to the health and well-being of our community.” Legislature Chairman Patrick Linger said, “This should be a community discussion as to how our police departments interact with the community and with our criminal-justice system. ...This is going to be a pretty lively and good discussion I think, as far as what our policing is going to look like in Greene County.” People can submit questions or concerns for discussion at greenegovernment [dot] com. The committee’s reform plan must address a variety of issues including use-of-force policies, procedural justice; any studies addressing systemic racial bias or racial justice in policing; implicit bias awareness training; and more. The reform plan must be ratified by the county Legislature by April 1. The Greene County Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative will meeting at 6 p.m., Wed., Oct. 14, in the Catskill High School auditorium. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.