Tent City/Safety/Proposals/24 Oct 2011

PROPOSAL

OF THE PUBLIC MEETING OF THE SAFETY WORKING GROUP

1. Safety Working Group should hold weekly public meeting to address various safety issues with the OB Community
2. Rotation of shifts:

• We propose that a large number of the OB community should rotate into Safety “shifts,” because we should all protect our own community.
• Everybody on rotation ends up doing a two-week shift:

To start the rotation process, current Safety members or volunteers train a new shift of people (A) for a week. In their second week, the people of (A) train another group of people (B).

 Team (A) is now done with a two-week rotation, but (B) stays on for their second week, training (C), who are in their first week. (C) stays on for a second week, training (D), etc.

Guidelines for behavior

1. Be respectful to us, you’re our Safety team!
2. Do not engage in verbal assault
3. Assess the situation, don’t assume
4. Abolish violence within yourself; diffuse and de-escalate the violence around you
5. Bring conflicts of interest regarding tents before the GA, in the form of proposals of what should be done
6. No being under influence during duty
   1. If a person on Safety rotation is found to be inebriated during duty, s/he will be asked by fellow members of Safety to step down from duty for the night

Review process

1. If a person on Safety rotation has not behaved according to the guidelines for behavior, s/he should be subject to a review process, mediated by the Community Wellness Group

­­­_________________END PROPOPOSAL__________________________________________

1. Recommendations:

The Safety Working Group meeting recommends the creation of protocol for handling potentially violent or intimidating situations.

The Safety Working Group meeting recommends that an Urban Planning Working Group be organized, to deal with tents and territory-related issues.

The SWG meeting recommends that current members of the Safety Working Group receive training in mediation from the Community Wellness Working Group. In fact, the SWG recommends that everybody in Occupy Boston receive mediation training, especially the Occupiers who are on Safety rotation.

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