National Initiative Focuses on Trust Between Community and Police

The DOJ announced six cities will host pilot sites for a national initiative to improve the relationship between citizens and local police departments

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What Happened?

The U.S. Department of Justice announced six cities will host pilot sites for a national initiative to improve the relationship between members of the community and local police departments.

Goal

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice that aims to assess the police-community relationship in six communities across the country. The $4.75 million initiative will pilot site-specific plans:

  • Enhance procedural justice
  • Reduce bias
  • Support reconciliation in communities

The national initiative will be tested in Birmingham, Alabama; Fort Worth, Texas; Gary, Indiana; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Stockton, California. These six cities were selected based past incidents of broken trust between law enforcement and residents. The strategies developed through the pilot programs will be used to identify best practices that can be applied in communities nationwide.

Furthermore, the DOJ is offering training and technical assistance to police departments and communities outside the pilot sites, as well as an online clearinghouse with up-to-date information on how to improve interactions between citizens and police departments. The Office of Justice Program’s Diagnostic Center will connect communities and local police departments to:

  • Training
  • Peer mentoring
  • Expert consultation
  • Assistance on procedural justice and racial recognition

The goal of the initiatives is to address concerns with law enforcement through the rebuilding of trust and community-wide outreach.

Saginaw Safe Neighborhoods Grant

The U.S. Department of Justice is also providing grants to communities through its Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative. The goal of the grant program is to reduce gun violence while promoting safe communities nationwide. The DOJ brings together local, state and federal law enforcement officials, prosecutors and community leaders to coordinate deterrence strategies to boost safety. The program emphasizes:

  • Prevention
  • Tactical intelligence gathering
  • Aggressive prosecutions
  • Enhanced accountability through performance measures

In Saginaw, Michigan, a $500,000 grant from the DOJ’s Project Safe Neighborhoods campaign will be used to reduce gun violence and gang activity in the community. The Saginaw police department will be awarded $172,789 while the remaining funds will fund other community programs through the Child Abuse and Neglect Council of the Great Lakes Bay Region, the Saginaw County Business and Education Partnership and other regional organizations, MLive reported.

The police department will use its allocated funds to support a street-level effort to curb gang activity and remove guns from hot spots where violent crimes are most prevalent. Grant money will also be used to develop proactive and preventative practices to improve school safety, MLive reported.

The Saginaw police department had its school resources officers reduced due to budget cuts. The federal grant will enable the department to relaunch the school outreach program that brings together police officers, students and educators to discuss gun and gang violence, and deter students from criminal activity, MLive reported.

The police department will train five officers to act as school resource officers. These law enforcement representatives will engage students and educators in discussions on safety and violence prevention, as well as provide students with a resource to talk to, MLive reported.

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