Real Life Real Faith Men of Faith September Issue | Page 10

our communities is rooted out. We must also do our part in self-policing our
communities. We must, especially we men, not accept our communities being in
the condition that they are in and stand up and do something about it. We cannot
expect law enforcement or the government to do everything and we sit back and
do nothing.
The second thing that we must do is be accountable and responsible for
the part that we play in closing the relationship gap between law enforcement
and the community. The community has gone many years with accepting things
being the way that they are and not doing anything to make a change. Making
that change will take a community effort whether it is with law enforcement,
government, or education. Families/parents must become more active in their
children’s lives and knowing what they are involved with or who they are
involved with. That means we must show up for PTA meetings and talk with our
children’s teachers to ensure that they get the good education that they are
entitled to. That also means that you know where your children are and not
allow them to be out in the streets all times of the night. There needs to be a
concerted effort on the community side to make the community better by taking
pride in the community that you are a part of, and that means getting involved.
On the law enforcement side there needs to be more accountability for
those policemen that do not follow policies and break the law. This means that
cities such as my city, Baltimore, Maryland, cannot be paying off the citizens for
the indiscretions of bad cops and those cops get off with no liability or actions
taken against them. The blue wall needs to be broken down and there certainly
needs to be something done about the police unions and their blatant disregard
for bad officers and the responsibility that they are playing in keeping the gap
from being closed. I believe that officers must begin to get back to walking the
beats again so that they are more engaged in the community which in turn
would close the gap. Officers must know that if they are involved in any
shooting that they must immediately speak with an outside prosecutor and they
will be put on leave without pay. Also, any other officer that is involved in the
reporting and lies on the report or for another officer should also be
reprimanded. If these steps are taken I believe that this can be the beginning of
closing the gap with officers and the community.
When the community and law enforcement work together it makes for a
safe and strong community. The trust factor must be built back up on both ends
and then maybe there can be a real progression towards closing the
communication gap and making our society better for everyone.