Rebuilding Community Trust Through Community Policing (Case Study)

• NCJ Number: 250591
• Date Published: October 2015
• Length: 5 pages
• Agencies: OJP-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description; Case Study

Annotation

This case study reviews how the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs' (OJP's) Diagnostic Center provided training and technical assistance (TTA) to the Fayetteville (NC) Police Department (FPD) at the request of the police chief for help in developing and implementing strategies to address violent crime among youth and improve community-police relations.

Abstract

This request came on the heels of Fayetteville's having experienced in 2012 its highest violent crime rate in a decade and as the city was experiencing historical tension between the community and police. The OJP Diagnostic Center coordinated with the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) to respond to the FPD's reques t for help. The Diagnostic Center was responsible for evaluating qualitative and quantitative data as the basis for developing strategies to address violent crime and improve community-police relations; and the COPS Office focused on evaluating the internal policies and practices related to police misconduct. This coordinated effort provided the FPD with a customized response to its request and ensured that the TTA provided was tailored to the city's needs. The data-driven programs and practices recommended by the OJP Diagnostic Center were an all-media communication strategy, a neighborhood collaborative policing project, and a community policing and conflict management training course. This TTA addressed five identified factors underlying the city's problems: strained community-police relations, limited positive interaction between police and youth, limited awareness and availability of resources and services, communication barriers, and lack of holistic research and evaluation opportunities with academic institutions. The community's response and the impact and outcomes of the TTA strategies are discussed. 1 figure