Community-Police Relations (Reconciliation) – CPR
In many communities in our city, relationships between community members and members of law enforcement have deteriorated to the point of breakdown.
Some issues that are contributing to the mistrust between the two groups are:
*incidents of police harassment, making threats, racial profiling
*police officers being arrested for crimes and intense media coverage of these arrests
*some areas experiencing high degrees of violence, including gang violence
*negative feelings towards police conveyed within families inter-generationally
We have empathy for the people involved on all sides, from the officers that wake up each day to go out to provide a helping hand to those in need and to deal with real criminals, to those who have been victims of crime, those whose loved ones have been victimized, and to the family members that have lost loved ones in these conflicts..
To address these issues in a holistic fashion, the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center is facilitating a new and innovative project, Community-Police Relations (CPR), working first with a pilot group of community members and a pilot group of law enforcement officers to discuss and work to change the barriers to having good relationships between both groups.
We are working to improve community-police relations by:
*creating a safe space for dialogue about the real issues involved in relationships between the community and law enforcement
*building security for our communities that is based upon tactics that are determined by the communities themselves
*putting forth the solutions that will enable positive relations between the community and law enforcement
This project is not only about dialogue and healing; it is also about moving beyond healing process so that our community can re-engage in setting the agenda for how we deal with the problems we face. It is about reconciliation that leads to empowerment. We are here to make a change!
With the police department and community organizations in full support, the CPR effort has thus far brought together concerned community members and concerned police officers for an initial series of meetings. These meetings have involved the two groups meeting separately, discussing their experiences and sharing their feelings about the difficulties in the relationship between the two groups, and also offering initial suggestions as to how the difficulties can be addressed and how we can begin to rebuild trust between the two groups. Next month, the two groups will be brought together for the first joint meeting, where a real, direct dialogue will start that addresses some of the different perspectives and experiences, and that sheds some light on the barriers that have prevented parties from hearing each other and from working together in the past.
It will take more than law enforcement representatives and community liaisons to address our city’s need for reconciliation between community members and law enforcement. We need your voice – we are listening!
Following this series of joint meetings between representatives of the community and of law enforcement, we will begin to take the dialogue and healing process out into other communities in the city. CPR will be looking for host sites for community meetings in 2013. The host sites will invite interested participants to learn more about community-police relations and this project and to be a part of proposing solutions to the problems that have contributed to the strained relations which currently exist.
The forums between community and law enforcement, and subsequent community meetings, will lead ultimately to a series of suggestions for change – in other words, an action plan that can be implemented city-wide to ensure positive relationships between communities and police. This action plan will evolve organically from the input and dialogue between people on various sides of the issue and may involve political, institutional, psychological, social, and economic dimensions.
How can you help?
Learn more about the Community-Police Relations and the reconciliation effort. Sign up to host a forum in 2013!
For more information, please contact CPR organizer Melissa Miller-Monie atmelissa@midsouthpeace.org or (901) 725-5490