SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CALIF. -- The County of Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office is the first California agency to adopt recommendations from the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, a May 2015 detailed report designed to help law enforcement strengthen collaboration with the communities they serve. The President’s Task Force was co-chaired by Charles Ramsey, commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department, and Laurie Robinson of George Mason University.
In Santa Cruz County, Sheriff Jim Hart put together his own task force to implement the President’s recommendations. According to his office, updating the county’s community policing model will improve the agency’s abilities to protect the public.
In a column for the Times Publishing Group, Inc., Zach Friend, Santa Cruz County supervisor, 2nd District, discussed the President’s six key pillars of policing:
- Pillar 1: Building Trust and Legitimacy
- Pillar 2: Policy and Oversight
- Pillar 3: Technology and Social Media
- Pillar 4: Community Policing and Crime Reduction
- Pillar 5: Training and Education
- Pillar 6: Officer Wellness and Safety
As Sheriff Hart has noted, police policies must reflect community values...law enforcement should collaborate with community members, especially in communities and neighborhoods disproportionately affected by crime, to develop their policies and strategies,” said Friend.
The department has also posted the local task force’s guidance for The Six Pillars of 21st Century Policing.
Friend reported that the Sheriff’s Hart’s office is currently working on a set of recommendations to improve officer wellness and safety. He said the agency has also embraced “a guardian mindset to build public trust and legitimacy and adopt procedural justice as the guiding principle for policies and community interactions.” And in an effort to build public trust, the agency has also made all department policies available for public review.
Read the original story on the Times Publishing Group website.
