Can open conversations between cops and inner-city youth bring down crime rates? That's the goal of the Pennsylvania Disproportionate Minority Contact forums.
Wow -- it's great that y'all have been doing so much outreach, Becky. How do you think it's made a difference?
It's one of the most rewarding activities I participate in (of course next to teaching about ACEs - wink) here at the department because of the impact in the community. For example, a few weeks ago we had Coffee With a Cop on a Saturday morning hosted by an African American church. We had about 15 community members and shared some of the most open dialogue you can imagine. Everything from, "what steps do we take to hire diverse populations for officers" to "how should you respond if pulled over" by an officer. During these events you can see and hear there are misconceptions that exist and all (officers and community members) leave satisfied that efforts are being made to communicate. Community members feel valued by police and that is why it's making a difference.
This is excellent and I just sent the link to my Chief. We have had in our Department a similar group called Community Roundtable that has been active for about 2 years. We have the president of our local NAACP, members of FBI and Johnson City Police who meet monthly with a diverse group of community members (youth and adults). We also do many police outreach programs (it's my role as Coordinator of Community Crime Prevention Programs to arrange these events for our officers and Roundtable members). We do "Coffee With A Cop" where I schedule visits in churches, coffee shops and public spaces where there's no agenda or speeches just a visit with officers and whoever shows up. We also serve as a panelists to speak to students at our local universities. We will be panelists at East Tennessee State University during Civility Week activities this month as well as joining "Conversation With a Cop" at Milligan College in March as well. In April we are hosting a city wide event called "Badges and Ballers" 3 on 3 basketball tournament/Slam Dunk contest and a free basketball clinic for kids. We have realized as Philadelphia that there are misconceptions within the community of the role of police that we cannot ignore. We must be proactive to build relationships and educate that we are "guardians" of the community and here to serve each of its residents.
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