The Nashville Community Review Board received updates on MNPD recruitment, training and the board’s outreach campaign at its Oct. 1 meeting and agreed to convene committee meetings on the MOU and the FY27 budget.

What happened: Captain Cantrell (MNPD training academy) supplied training and recruitment figures to the executive director, who briefed the board on class demographics, attrition reasons and recruitment activities. The board also heard a summary of the board’s outreach campaign, including a 90‑day billboard placement purchased through Lamar Advertising for approximately $24,000.

Why it matters: The figures inform the board’s oversight work and public‑facing outreach is intended to increase complaint reporting and public awareness of the board’s role.

Key details from MNPD data presented

- Training sessions: MNPD runs six academy sessions per calendar year; six are planned for the next calendar year as well.
- Current trainee counts: three sessions in academy total 63 trainees at the time of the briefing.
- Lateral class (session 113): median age 30; 11 officers (3 Black, 8 White; 8 male, 3 female).
- Regular basic class: median age 25; 32 trainees (4 Black, 24 White, 2 Hispanic, 2 Other; 26 male, 6 female).
- Attrition reasons: voluntary resignation during training, failure of law exam, firearms or emergency vehicle operations, injuries, or termination.
- Department totals reported: about 200 sworn females and 331 sworn officers who identify as not white (figures provided by MNPD in the briefing).
- Recruitment events: MNPD recruitment unit participated in about 171 events in FY24–25.

Outreach and budget items

The executive director described a public campaign titled "Your Voice, Our Mission," consisting of billboards placed in multiple parts of the city for roughly 90 days. "We spent $24,000 for the total, and I believe that's for, like, 4 or 5 locations," the executive director said. Board members noted outreach appears to have increased contacts and complaints to the office and discussed low‑cost alternatives or in‑kind opportunities for future placements.

MOU and budget committee meetings

The executive director reminded the board that the MOU between NCRB and MNPD is due for annual review before its Nov. 24 renewal date and proposed the MOU committee meet in October to surface issues and potential edits; several board members agreed. The board also agreed to schedule a budget committee meeting in early December to prepare FY27 submissions and to ask the finance staffer for a consolidated spreadsheet of actuals to support planning.

Other community engagement

The executive director listed upcoming public events where the board will have presence and public materials, including Celebrate Nashville (Oct. 4 in Centennial Park) and a fall festival at Harding Park (Nov. 8). The board discussed the possibility of community incentives to increase public reporting (e.g., social media engagement prizes) but retained the need to follow procurement rules and vendor contracts for paid media.

Quote attribution: All quotes are drawn from the meeting transcript and attributed to the executive director and Captain Cantrell where used.