California Police Chief- Fall 2013 CPCA_2018_Spring Magazine_Final | Page 29

Changing the Narrative through PEACE By Chief Deanna Cantrell I serve on the California Police Chiefs Association Committee for Changing the National Narrative surrounding police and community trust. Each of us are innovatively addressing this ever-growing issue in our communities. To help build trust between the police and the community, the San Luis Obispo Police Department has engaged in a series of critical conversations with our community that we call PEACE, Police Education and Community Engagement. Policing has grown significantly more challenging with increase in crime in much of California, tightening budgets, rapidly evolving technology, legislation, and decreasing trust in law enforcement nationally. The San Luis Obispo Police Department knows we must partner with the community to address those challenges. We cannot reduce crime without a strong relationship with community members who are willing to support crime prevention efforts by reporting crime and actively pursuing neighborhood wellness. We cannot repair damaged relationships without a community that is willing to engage openly and honestly in the process. In recent years, the relationships between police departments and the communities they serve has been strained to a point of distrust, negatively impacting cities and individuals in the community. When there is no opportunity for these two groups to have open dialogues and work together to solve community concerns, issues remain unaddressed and communities remain distrustful and disenfranchised. According to a survey releas ed by the Pew Research Center, 86 percent of police officers say the public does not understand them very well or at all. However, a separate survey revealed “most Americans say they understand the risks and challenges that police officers face.” So why, in so many communities, is there a divide between police officers and the people? There are a few reasons for this: the pervasive nature of institutionalized racism in government, the relatively recent phenomenon of videos circulated nationally that show police force (both justified and not justified), poor communication between community members and police departments, lack of government transparency, and the perception of mistrust and overall inaccessibility or inability to openly communicate with police officers. These factors have all contributed to, and in many ways helped maintain, the divide between police departments and communities they serve. Over the last decade, mistrust and lack of communication has increased with the use of social media and other news outlets. Some videos show police SPRING 2018 | California Police Chief 29