At their Tuesday night meeting, members of the Urbana School District 116 Board of Education approved an intergovernmental agreement with the city that would quadruple police presence in the district’s middle and high school buildings. 

The Urbana Police Department announced last week that it will join the growing number of police departments around the country that equip officers with body-worn cameras.

Some studies have shown that increasing police resources in areas of higher crime, or “hot spots policing,” is an effective way to reduce crime. But it often doesn’t take into account how that policing strategy impacts the relationship between the community and law enforcement. 

News of two shooting incidents that occurred over the weekend in Urbana come at a time when local leaders and community members are grappling with what to do about an uptick in violence across the Champaign-Urbana area.

A report presented to the Urbana City Council Monday night shows African-American motorists are still more likely than white drivers to be stopped by city police. But the level of disparity is down substantially.