Localism in Law Enforcement : Creating Conversation in Your Communities
By : Katie Nelson , Public Information Officer , and Chief Chris Hsiung , Deputy Chief – Mountain View PD
In the wake of the death of George Floyd , local law enforcement leaders
began re-examining ways in which to connect with their communities to be hyper focused on how issues in the national narrative were impacting their cities locally .
Each community has its own set of individual needs , nuances , and personalities , which police chiefs know very well . These idiosyncrasies are what make each community so unique , and it is why so many choose to live -- and serve -- in the cities that they do . To be able to know the traits of your community , and how and why that connects to its members , has never been more pivotal .
With the overwhelming tidal wave of the national narrative , negative news coverage , and endless social media posts , many in our communities assumed the same must be true in our jurisdictions . Many asked how and why our agencies are different , how we can work to prevent what has made headlines across our state and our country and what we ’ re doing to effect change .
In Mountain View , timing to allow for listening and growth together as a community was pivotal . In the immediate aftermath of the death of George Floyd , emotions were high . The national narrative surrounding law enforcement skewed heavily towards all the wrongs done by those who wear a badge . The trust that many of us worked so hard to build up through transparency efforts was practically zapped overnight .
As the anger and concern strongly surged forward weeks after George Floyd ’ s death , elected officials and police chiefs alike were hounded with questions around defunding , the “ 8 Can ’ t Wait ” campaign , and more . The question of “ How do we recover from this ?” was on all our minds . We all saw the same footage out of Minneapolis . We could feel the absolute horror , disgust , and fear from our communities . What could we do , at a grassroots level , to begin to get everyone
22 CALIFORNIA POLICE CHIEF | www . californiapolicechiefs . org to the table , to champion localism in law enforcement , and create moments of opportunity for thorough , honest , and transparent dialogue with those who call our cities home ?
In Mountain View , we began to ruminate on the idea of a community academy , the bones bearing the multi-session tracks of a community academy , but with a mindset of listening , learning , and creating a safe environment to foster true dialogue ; not on teaching necessarily the nuances of police work or trying to change their minds . By incorporating conversation as a key concept in the building of this new program , dubbed MVPDx : Partnering for the Future of
Policing , we set ourselves with a standard not of teaching per se , but one of collaboration , listening , and true dialogue .
The first cohort -- many of whom were local police reform activists , concerned community members who had contacted us , local community leaders and more -- honed in on themes that were sparking national dialogue -- bias , community policing , the current state of law enforcement and its future . The program was also adaptable , particularly in the age of COVID-19 , with modifications to allow us to be mostly virtual via Zoom with select in-person experiential days . With those parameters , officers within the department would join twice-weekly conversations , either from their office or from their home , to listen in with the group , a total of 10 residents to start , hear their concerns , and as allowable , share their own stories , feedback , and where applicable , apply teaching moments .
Originally slated for seven sessions with the final day a marathon of discussion around three themes -- bias in policing , policing presence ,