By Sallie Ann Burnett, East Regional Director, Alliance for Innovation
Engaging the Community in Public Safety: Examples of Community Policing Concepts
by Jason Rollins, Communications Director, Alliance for Innovation
The issue of policing in the United States has once again emerged to the top of public discourse. As tragic image after tragic image fills our TV screens, tensions rise. The recent shootings by police and against police are creating a sense of distrust between the public and police or sew a narrative that our police are under attack. Unfortunately, during times of stress such as this, the tendency to editorialize the events and politicize the issues often leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths while mending none of the broken hearts or repairing the damaged fences. If you stay glued to the television, what solutions and actionable resources will you take away? The answer is likely, beyond an emotional response, very little. What, if anything, do situations like these tell us? As local government professionals, you know the reality: distrust is a real issue, but real work is being done by local governments and police departments to deepen and grow relationships with the communities they serve. One way this is being done is through the use of community-oriented policing, or at a minimum, engaging the community in some way, shape or form. Read more here.
About the Alliance for Innovation: The Alliance for Innovation is inspiring innovation to advance communities. As the premier resource for emerging practices in local government, we are building cultures of innovation and connecting thought leaders in the profession with the help of our partners International City/County Management Association and Arizona State University. We are accessible and valuable to all levels of an organization. You can learn more about the Alliance at www.transformgov.org or contact me at saburnett@transformgov.org.
