Implicit bias describes the automatic association people make between groups of people and stereotypes about those groups.
Implicit bias describes the automatic association people make between groups of people and stereotypes about those groups. Under certain conditions, those automatic associations can influence behavior—making people respond in biased ways even when they are not explicitly prejudiced. More than thirty years of research in neurology and social and cognitive psychology has shown that people hold implicit biases even in the absence of heartfelt bigotry, simply by paying attention to the social world around them. Implicit racial bias has given rise to a phenomenon known as “racism without racists,” which can cause institutions or individuals to act on racial prejudices, even in spite of good intentions and nondiscriminatory policies or standards.
In the context of criminal justice and community safety, implicit bias has been shown to have significant influence in the outcomes of interactions between police and citizens. While conscious, “traditional” racism has declined significantly in recent decades, research suggests that “implicit attitudes may be better at predicting and/or influencing behavior than self-reported explicit attitudes.”
Discussions of implicit bias in policing tend to focus on implicit racial biases; however, implicit bias can be expressed in relation to non-racial factors, including gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation. As with all types of bias, implicit bias can distort one’s perception and subsequent treatment either in favor of or against a given person or group. In policing, this has resulted in widespread practices that focus undeserved suspicion on some groups and presume other groups innocent.
Reducing the influence of implicit bias is vitally important to strengthening relationships between police and minority communities. For example, studies suggest that implicit bias contributes to “shooter bias,”—the tendency for police to shoot unarmed black suspects more often than white ones—as well as the frequency of police stops for members of minority groups. Other expressions of implicit bias, such as public defenders’ prioritization of cases involving white defendants, can have major impact on communities. This latter point is particularly significant in light of recent findings about the importance of procedural justice in fostering cooperation between citizens and the criminal justice system and cultivating law-abiding communities.
Despite these challenges, the work of Phillip Atiba Goff, President of the Center for Policing Equity, has shown that it is possible to address and reduce implicit bias through training and policy interventions with law enforcement agencies. Research suggests that biased associations can be gradually unlearned and replaced with nonbiased ones. Perhaps even more encouragingly, one can reduce the influence of implicit bias simply by changing the context in which an interaction takes place. Consequently, through policy and training, it is possible to mend the harm that racial stereotypes do to our minds and our public safety.
La Vigne, N., Fontaine, J., & Dwivedi, A. 2017. How Do People in High-Crime, Low-Income Communities View the Police?. Urban Institute. https://nnscommunities.org/uploads/how_do_people_in_high-crime_view_the_police.pdf
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The goal of this course is to engage police officers in critical thought and discussion about contemporary mechanisms of bias regarding race, gender, sexuality, and other identities within the context of law enforcement, centering on identity traps and drawing on the scholarship of implicit bias and self-threats. Read More
The goal of this course is to engage police officers in critical thought and discussion about contemporary mechanisms of bias regarding race, gender, sexuality, and other identities within the context of law enforcement, centering on identity traps and drawing on the scholarship of implicit bias and self-threats. Read More
Stockton Chief of Police Eric Jones published his thoughts on what he calls "principled policing" and how the Stockton Police Department is using that concept to build trust with its community and enhance public safety. Read More
The California Partnership for Safe Communities, in conjunction with the CA Department of Justice, police and community leaders, and researchers at Stanford University have produced "an innovative training curriculum to promote procedural justice and address implicit bias." This document seeks to combine real-world experiences and academic evaluation in order to develop training practices that will enhance police-community relations. Read More
The COPS Office and the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice have provided overview briefs on topics important to building community safety by improving police legitimacy. Implicit Bias focuses on the phenomenon of automatic associations individuals make between groups of people. Read More
The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, in partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, has released a series of guidebooks intended to serve as a tool for all levels of law enforcement. This is one in a series of three guides, all of which can be found in the "Tools and Guides" section of the National Initiative website. Read More
The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, in partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, has released a series of guidebooks intended to serve as a tool for all levels of law enforcement. This is one in a series of three guides, all of which can be found in the "Tools and Guides" section of the National Initiative website. Read More
The Department of Justice announced new guidance in December 2015 designed to help law enforcement agencies (LEAs) prevent gender bias in their response to sexual assault and domestic violence, focusing on the need for clear policies, robust training and responsive accountability systems. Read More
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced a new guidance from the Justice Department designed to help law enforcement agencies prevent gender bias in their response to sexual assault and domestic violence, highlighting the need for clear policies, robust training and responsive accountability systems. Read More
On April 4, 2014, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) hosted a conference with law enforcement officials, civil rights activists, academic experts, community leaders, and policymakers at the Ford Foundation offices in New York City. This forum was the first in a series of forums focusing on building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. This publication, recently published by COPS at DOJ, is a great outline of the first of many forums to focus on building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Read More
The goal of this course is to engage police officers and the communities they serve in critical thought and discussion about contemporary mechanisms of bias regarding race, gender, sexuality, and other identities within the context of law enforcement centering on identity traps and drawing on the scholarship of implicit bias and self-threats. Click here to view and download the PowerPoint.
The goal of this course is to engage police officers and the communities they serve in critical thought and discussion about contemporary mechanisms of bias regarding race, gender, sexuality, and other identities within the context of law enforcement centering on identity traps and drawing on the scholarship of implicit bias and self-threats. Click here to view and download the PowerPoint.
"The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) convened three focus groups of community stakeholders, frontline officers, and law enforcement executives to discuss building community trust. They discussed strategies that have been used successfully to develop communities of trust and identified challenges facing law enforcement and the community. This toolkit collects some of the most successful strategies, and tools for engaging communities of color, here defined as people of African, Latino or Hispanic, Native American, Asian, or Pacific Island descent.
Communities of color have faced many decades of real and perceived mistreatment by the justice system and law enforcement, leading to fear, anger, resentment, and distrust. Communities of color often feel marginalized and mistreated. Recognizing and responding to mistrust lies at the heart of building stronger community-police relationships. This requires a variety of resources, protocols, policies, strategies, and training. Communities of color and police must continue to join forces to create safe environments. In this toolkit we share a number of promising programs working to improve community-police relations on a daily basis."
The National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice is a project to improve relationships and increase trust between communities and the criminal justice system and advance the public and scholarly understandings of the issues contributing to those relationships. In September 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a three year, $4.75 million grant to establish the project. In collaboration with the Department of Justice, the National Initiative is coordinated by the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, with partnership from the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School, the Center for Policing Equity at John Jay College and UCLA, and the Urban Institute.
On September 27, 2016, research conducted by the Urban Institute under the National Initiative was presented by Nancy La Vigne at a Congressional Briefing on "Violence and Violence Prevention." At the briefing, which was sponsored by Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP) in collaboration with WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Research Center, La Vigne detailed data collected from surveys distributed to residents of high-crime, low-income neighborhoods in each of the National Initiative’s six pilot sites—Birmingham AL; Fort Worth, TX; Gary, IN; Minneapolis, MN; Pittsburgh, PA; and Stockton, CA—that confirms suspicions of longstanding mistrust between law enforcement and communities of color.
For example, fewer than half of all survey respondents believe that police officers are responsive to community concerns and are held accountable for misconduct. Similarly, more than half of those surveyed agreed that officers judge local residents "based on personal biases or prejudices" and that they treat people differently based on their race or ethnicity.
Despite this high degree of mistrust, law enforcement and communities of color share common ground, with many residents willing to serve as active partners in crime prevention. More than 60 percent of respondents said they would report crimes or suspicious activities to police and about half said they would attend community meetings to discuss crime prevention.
These surveys, part of the National Initiative's research and evaluation component, were distributed in each of our six pilot sites before the project was underway. Following its completion, a second round of surveys will be distributed to measure the impact of interventions oriented around implicit bias, procedural justice, and reconciliation.
Click here to download a PDF of the presentation and below for the video.
The U.S. Department of Justice's Community Relations Service (CRS), aiming to improve interactions between police and transgender individuals, has soft-launched a new cultural professionalism roll-call training video entitled “Law Enforcement and the Transgender Community.” The video, which features scenarios of the three most common ways police officers encounter members of the transgender community, provides the information, tools, and techniques for departments to exercise procedural justice and mitigate implicit bias when interacting with this community.
Karol V. Mason, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, delivers the keynote address of the National Network for Safe Communities' National Conference 2015.
This plenary session of the National Network for Safe Communities' conference provides an overview of the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice and situates it within the context of the post-Ferguson climate around trust, legitimacy, reform, and reconciliation. Participants discuss the genesis of the National Initiative, its aims and early steps, and its relevance to the national interest in re-examining traditional criminal justice and promoting truth-telling and reconciliation between law enforcement and the communities it serves. Moderated by David Kennedy, Director of the NNSC, this panel features Katherine Darke Schmitt, Policy Advisor in the Office of Justice Programs at the US Department of Justice, Tom Tyler, Macklin Fleming Professor of Law at Yale University, Tracie Keesee, Project Director of the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice, and Priscilla Hayner, independent writer and consultant on truth and reconciliation processes.
This plenary session of the National Network for Safe Communities' conference addresses the cultural shifts taking place in law enforcement agencies and communities around the country. Participants discuss how gradually changing law enforcement practices have affected the relationships between police and the communities they serve, and how momentum has built behind practices that acknowledge history, repair legitimacy, and rebuild public trust. Moderated by Professor Phillip Atiba Goff of the Center for Policing Equity at UCLA, this panel features Chief A.C. Roper of Birmingham Police Dept., Ben McBride, Founder of the Empower Initiative, and Rev. K. Edward Copeland, Pastor of the New Zion Baptist Church of Rockford, IL.
“When any part of the American family does not feel like it is being treated fairly, that’s a problem for all of us,” said the President. “It’s not just a problem for some. It’s not just a problem for a particular community or a particular demographic. It means that we are not as strong as a country as we can be. And when applied to the criminal justice system, it means we’re not as effective in fighting crime as we could be.”
Download and read the full report.
Stockton, California, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Minneapolis, Minnesota, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Gary, Indiana, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Fort Worth, Texas, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Birmingham, Alabama, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones: "It is clearer than ever that to reach significant reductions in violent crime, police trust-building must be a priority. Whether some community members do not report crime or do not work with police due to apathy, fear, or a lack of confidence, it is data-driven policing coupled with trust-building that can begin to change that. Whether some community members do not occupy their public spaces because of perceived or actual crime, smarter policing and trust-building can ease these fears." - Read More
The National Initiative would like to take this moment to offer a word of support to all of our law enforcement and community partners. - Read More
On November 19 and 20, 2015, the National Initiative held a rountable discussions hosted by the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School. - Read More
The National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice is designed to make real and rapid progress on the strained and often broken relationship between many communities -- especially, alienated communities of color -- and law enforcement. - Read More
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - February 2019
Pittsburgh police chief, officers meet with community in trust-building effort
The New York Times - May 2018
Opinion: A Better Solution for Starbucks
Berkeleyside - May 2018
Berkeley police stops show racial disparities — but what does that mean?
The Stockton Record - April 2018
Town hall on officer-involved shootings brings together law enforcement, south Stockton leaders
NI Newsletter - February 2018
Procedural Justice: More Than Just Being Nice
Steelers.com - December 2017
Working together as one: The Steelers and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police continue to grow their relationship.
NI Newsletter - December 2017
2017 National Initiative Status Reports
ACLU Blog - September 2017
The Minneapolis Police Department Is Sharing Data on Police Stops. Other Departments Should Follow.
NI Newsletter - July 2017
The Process of Trust Building
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - June 2017
Pittsburgh police train community, officers on implicit bias
WFAA - May 2017
Details on Fort Worth Police Department’s Community Procedural Justice Initiative
The Stanford Daily - April 2017
Q&A: Stockton Police Chief aims to regain community’s trust
Stockton Record - March 2017
Stockton summit highlights strategies for law enforcement
The Stockton Record - March 2017
Stockton Police reach out to clarify role, assure Latino community
The Stockton Record - March 2017
Stockton community member: Getting ‘a seat at the table’
The Stockton Record - March 2017
Listening in a new way
PA Times - February 2017
A Tale of Six Cities
New York Times - December 2016
The Roots of Implicit Bias
John Jay College - November 2016
Liberation Through Language: Philip Goff’s First Lecture at John Jay College
The Missourian - November 2016
Implicit bias training will continue for Columbia Police
Complex Magazine - November 2016
How Do We Unlearn Racism
The Pitt News - November 2016
McLay resigned, but his reforms should remain
The Birmingham Times - November 2016
Birmingham’s Playbook for Community Policing
Huffington Post - October 2016
Can Empathy Improve Policing?
New York Times - October 2016
We’re All a Little Biased, Even if We Don’t Know It
New York Times - October 2016
We’re All a Little Biased, Even if We Don’t Know It
Washington Post - August 2016
A look inside the training the White House thinks could stop the police shooting, protest, damning DOJ report cycle
The New York Times - July 2016
A Strategy to Build Police-Citizen Trust
90.5 WESA - July 2016
Pittsburgh Police Take On Implicit Bias With Peer-To-Peer Training
California Police Chiefs - July 2016
Principled Policing
New York Times - July 2016
Study Supports Suspicion That Police Are More Likely to Use Force on Blacks
CS Monitor - July 2016
Obama: Police must reduce ‘appearance or reality of racial bias’
New York Times - July 2016
Policing the Police on Stop-and-Frisk
Crain's - July 2016
Chicago should be commended for police reforms, not dissed
The Marshall Project - May 2016
Do Public Defenders Spend Less Time on Black Clients?
The Crime Report - May 2016
Can Cops Be Trained to Avoid Biased Policing?
MPR News - May 2016
Minn. police chiefs hear about implicit bias in policing
Michigan Radio - April 2016
Police training could be key to solving racial bias
Kokomo Perspective - April 2016
Gary police already implementing change
The Crime Report - April 2016
Let’s Train Cops For ‘Compassionate Policing’
The Crime Report - April 2016
Why Chicago’s Black Youth Distrust Cops
The Washington Post - April 2016
Can police police their biases? Training is underway.
USA Today - April 2016
Minneapolis police revamp training to combat discrimination
CBS Minnesota - March 2016
Minneapolis Police Department Looks Back At Roots Of Diversity
California Partnership for Safe Communities - March 2016
Strengthening Community-Police Relations: Training as a Tool for Change
Southwest Journal - March 2016
Police and community take a hard look at implicit bias
Star Tribune - February 2016
In Minneapolis, a time for change on policing and race
ABC 5 Minneapolis - February 2016
Minneapolis Police Training Looks to Transform Police, Resident Interaction
FOX 9 Minneapolis - February 2016
Minneapolis part of Dept. of Justice initiative to build trust between community, police
The Psych Report - February 2016
Stereotype Threat in Police Encounters: Implications for Miscarriages of Justice
ABC 5 Minneapolis - February 2016
National Pilot Program on Police-Community Relations Gets Underway in Mpls.
John Jay College News - February 2016
American Justice Summit Draws Leading Voices on Criminal Justice Reform
MSR News Online - January 2016
Pilot project seeks ways to build police-community trust
KRON 4- San Francisco - January 2016
SFPD officers make pledge against racism
Criminal Justice and Behavior - January 2016
Arrestees Perceptions of the Police: Exploring Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and Willingness to Cooperate With Police Across Offender Types
Stockton Record - January 2016
Stockton Crime Rate at 15-Year Low
Washington Post - January 2016
In push to reform police work, officers examine their own biases
Houston Chronicle - December 2015
Feds release new guidance to prevent gender-bias policing
SanJoaquin.com-Blog - December 2015
First in series of youth forums “to educate … about rights and responsibilities when encountering police”
Association for Psychological Science - December 2015
The Impact of Psychological Science on Policing in the United States: Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and Effective Law Enforcement
Yale Law School - December 2015
Professor Tracey Meares on Procedural Justice and The Justice Collaboratory
WESA- Pittsburgh - December 2015
Pittsburgh Police Share Plan To Build Trust With, Protect City’s Muslim Population
DNAinfo - December 2015
Improving Police-Community Relations One Improv at a Time
San Diego Union-Tribune - November 2015
SDPD’s drive to get back to community policing
MPR News - November 2015
Minneapolis police getting training on ‘procedural justice’
State of California, Office of the Attorney General - November 2015
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Kicks Off First-of-its-Kind Law Enforcement Training on Implicit Bias & Procedural Justice
New York Times - October 2015
The Disproportionate Risks of Driving While Black
New York Daily News - October 2015
NYPD recruits will be required to learn the ‘realities of racism’ by watching ‘Anne & Emmett’
Los Angeles Daily News - October 2015
LA County Sheriff aims to recruit deputies with strong moral compass
NJ.Com - October 2015
More than 150 N.J. cops get bias training at NAACP conference
San Jose Inside - October 2015
County to Bolster ‘Implicit Bias’ Training for Sheriff’s Deputies
NBC 29- Virginia - October 2015
VA Attorney General Outlines Impartial Policing Initiative
Lawrence Journal-World - October 2015
Lawrence police train public on ‘Fair and Impartial Policing’
Today's Ozy - October 2015
Why Are So Many Queer Girls in Juvie?
Charleston Post and Courier - September 2015
Charleston Leaders Announce Effort to Build Police Trust
CBC News- Manitoba - September 2015
Winnipeg Officers Get ‘fair policing’ Training to Cut Bias, Racism at Work
Norwood Transcript and Bulletin - September 2015
Police Chiefs Release Plan to Increase Trust
Minnesota Daily - September 2015
Minneapolis targeting police interactions
Norwood Transcript and Bulletin - September 2015
Police chiefs release improvement plan
MinnPost - August 2015
The professors and the police: How a Minneapolis project may change the way cops everywhere relate to the public
Police Chief Magazine - August 2015
From CompStat to RespectStat: Accountability for Respectful Policing
Greater Good - August 2015
Can Police Departments Reduce Implicit Bias?
Talk Radio News Service - July 2015
AG Lynch: DOJ Is Working Towards Racial Reconciliation
WNDU - July 2015
Police and the Public – Part 3: Lessons, advice from Gary and Kalamazoo
WNDU - July 2015
Police and the Public – Part 2: Gary Police partners with Department of Justice
WNDU - July 2015
Police and the Public – Part 1: Traffic study transforms Michigan department
AL.com - June 2015
Birmingham teen tells it straight to U.S. Attorney General: ‘We’re taught young to hate the police’
Star Tribune - June 2015
Minneapolis police training aims to help officers recognize biases
WVTM13 - June 2015
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks in Birmingham
AL.com - June 2015
Attorney General Loretta Lynch to bring community policing tour to Birmingham
Real Estate Rama - May 2015
Community Meeting Thursday On National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - May 2015
Pittsburgh meeting part of attempt to boost police-community ties
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - May 2015
What does good policing look like?
Baltimore Sun - May 2015
Why Freddie Gray ran
NPR - April 2015
Fear Of The Black Man: How Racial Bias Could Affect Crime, Labor Rates
PBS News Hour - April 2015
How the biases in the back of your mind affect how you feel about race
PBS - March 2015
Tavis Smiley: Center for Policing Equity Pres. Phillip Atiba Goff, Ph.D.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - March 2015
Pittsburgh named pilot site for federal initiative to build trust with law enforcement
NPR News - March 2015
U.S. Attorney General Holder Denounces Police Shootings In Missouri
MSNCB Nerding Out with Dorian Warren - March 2015
Code of conduct: what’s missing from OU and police departments?
Miami Herald - March 2015
Justice Dept. uses grants to encourage good community-police relations
Chicago Tribune - March 2015
Gary one of six cities in police-community pilot program
CBS Pittsburgh - March 2015
Pittsburgh Among 6 Cities Chosen For Project On Curbing Racial Bias
CBS DFW - March 2015
Fort Worth In Trial Program To Help Build Police/Community Trust
Recordnet.com - March 2015
DOJ names Stockton for police-community pilot program
Fort Worth Star-Telegram - March 2015
Fort Worth to be a part of federal initiative to build trust with law enforcement
Minneapolis Star Tribune - March 2015
Minneapolis chosen for program to reduce racially biased policing
PBS News Hour - March 2015
Federal pilot project seeks to stem racial bias in law enforcement
- March 2015
Attorney General Holder Announces the First Six Pilot Sites for the National Initiative
Guardian - March 2015
Eric Holder on US policing – full text of the speech
Fusion - March 2015
Does race matter when cops pull the trigger?
The White House - March 2015
Remarks by the President after Meeting with Task Force on 21st Century Policing
The Center on Media, Crime and Justice - February 2015
2015 H.F. Guggenheim Conference on Crime in America
ABC7 - January 2015
Training program focused on police community relations
The Crime Report - January 2015
Citizen Distrust Of Police Can Fuel Violence, David Kennedy Contends
The Epoch Times - January 2015
Research Institute Teaches Police Departments How to Police Fairly
The Huffington Post - December 2014
A Blueprint for Local Police Reform to Improve Legitimacy
WNYC - December 2014
The Police-Community Divide
MSNBC - November 2014
DOJ offers police training in Ferguson
St. Louis Public Radio - September 2014
Justice Department Launches Effort To Establish Trust Between Police, Communities
Vox - September 2014
The next frontier in police reform: training cops in empathy
Chicago Sun Times - February 2014
Chicago Police ‘custom notifications’: Is it profiling?
Procedural justice focuses on the way police and other legal authorities interact with the public, and how the characteristics of those interactions shape the public’s views of the police, their willingness to obey the law, and actual crime rates.
Procedural justice focuses on the way police and other legal authorities interact with the public, and how the characteristics of those interactions shape the public’s views of the police, their willingness to obey the law, and actual crime rates. Mounting evidence shows that community perceptions of procedural justice can have a significant impact on public safety.
Procedural justice is based on four central principles: "treating people with dignity and respect, giving citizens 'voice' during encounters, being neutral in decision making, and conveying trustworthy motives." Research demonstrates that these principles contribute to relationships between authorities and the community in which 1) the community has trust and confidence in the police as honest, unbiased, benevolent, and lawful; 2) the community feels obligated to follow the law and the dictates of legal authorities, and 3) the community feels that it shares a common set of interests and values with the police.
Procedurally just policing is essential to the development of good will between police and communities and is closely linked to improving community perceptions of police legitimacy, the belief that authorities have the right to dictate proper behavior. Research shows that when communities view police authority as legitimate, they are more likely to cooperate with police and obey the law. Establishing and maintaining police legitimacy promotes the acceptance of police decisions, correlates with high levels of law abidingness, and makes it more likely that police and communities will collaborate to combat crime.
A key component of the research is that the public is especially concerned that the conduct of authorities be fair, and this factor matters more to them than whether outcomes of particular interactions favor them. This means that procedurally just policing is not consonant with traditional enforcement-focused policing, which typically assumes compliance is a function primarily of emphasizing to the public the consequences—usually formal punishment—of failing to follow the law. Policing based on formal deterrence encourages the public’s association of policing primarily with enforcement and punitive outcomes. Procedurally just policing, on the other hand, emphasizes values that police and communities share—shared values based upon a common conception of what social order is and how it should be maintained—and encourages the collaborative, voluntary maintenance of a law-abiding community. Research indicates that this latter approach is far more effective at producing law-abiding citizens than the former. This makes intuitive sense— people welcome being treated as equals with a stake in keeping their communities safe, as opposed to being treated as subjects of a capricious justice system enforced by police who punish them for ambiguous, if not arbitrary, reasons.
Taking measures to enhance procedural justice within law enforcement agencies is becoming increasingly possible. Professor Tracey Meares and Professor Tom Tyler of Yale Law School have worked with the Chicago Police Department and others to create a one-day training for line officers and command staff that teaches them how to apply powerful procedural justice principles to their routine contacts with the public. The officers reportedly like it and evaluate it positively, as it improves not only public safety but their own. Indeed, there are many good reasons to cultivate a respectful relationship between police and communities, but the most important is that communities in which police are considered legitimate are safer and more law-abiding.
La Vigne, N., Fontaine, J., & Dwivedi, A. 2017. How Do People in High-Crime, Low-Income Communities View the Police?. Urban Institute. https://nnscommunities.org/uploads/how_do_people_in_high-crime_view_the_police.pdf
Beattie, G., Cohen, D., & McGuire, L. (2013). An exploration of possible unconscious ethnic biases in higher education: The role of implicit attitudes on selection for university posts. Semiotica 2013, 197, 171-201.
Tyler, T.R. (2009). Legitimacy and criminal justice: The benefits of self-regulation. Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, 7, 307-359.
Hough, M., Jackson, J., Bradford, B., Myhill, A., & Quinton, P. (2010). Procedural justice, trust, and institutional legitimacy. Policing, 4(3), 203-210.
Tyler, T. R. (2001). Trust and law abidingness: A proactive model of social regulation. Boston University Law Rev., 81, 361-406.
Tyler, T. R. (2005). Policing in black and white: Ethnic group differences in trust and confidence in the police. Police Quarterly, 8(3), 322-342.
Tyler, T. R., & Huo, Y. (2002). Trust in the Law: Encouraging Public Cooperation with the Police and Courts Through. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Tyler, T. R. (1988). What is procedural justice-criteria used by citizens to assess the fairness of legal procedures. Law & Society Review, 22(1), 103-136.
Tyler, T. R. (2006). Psychological perspectives on legitimacy and legitimation. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 57, 375-400.
Tyler, T. R., & Fagan, J. (2008). Legitimacy and cooperation: Why do people help the police fight crime in their communities. Ohio St. J. Crim. L., 6, 231-275.
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The goal of this course is to reintroduce the principles of procedural justice, gain a deeper understanding of the core concepts of police legitimacy, and build better relationships within the communities that we serve via the use of visual and scenario-based training. Read More
The goal of this course is for law enforcement officers to understand and employ the core concepts of police legitimacy and procedural justice in order to build better relationships with the communities they serve. Read More
One focus of procedural justice is how police act when they engage with the community, but why they engage could matter even more. Jonathan Blanks, writing in the Case Western Reserve Law Review, argues that certain types of legal police engagement, no matter how friendly or polite, may still undermine procedural justice. Blanks explains this concept through the example of the pretextual stop, which he says fundamentally violates trust and good faith between police and community. Read More
Stockton Chief of Police Eric Jones published his thoughts on what he calls "principled policing" and how the Stockton Police Department is using that concept to build trust with its community and enhance public safety. Read More
Tom Tyler, Phillip Atiba Goff, and Rick Trinkner have a new paper in press with Psychology, Public Policy and Law titled “Justice from Within: The Relations between a Procedurally Just Organizational Climate and Police Organizational Efficiency, Endorsement of Democratic Policing, and Officer Well-being.” The paper demonstrates that police officers’ experiences of procedural justice within their departments is associated with a number of positive outcomes, including increased support of the department itself and of general democratic approaches to policing. Read More
The Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs has developed a document to assist in the understanding of issues related to fines, fees, and other financial obligations.The guide contains links to various other publications to serve as case studies, reform guidance, and more. Read More
The California Partnership for Safe Communities, in conjunction with the CA Department of Justice, police and community leaders, and researchers at Stanford University have produced "an innovative training curriculum to promote procedural justice and address implicit bias." This document seeks to combine real-world experiences and academic evaluation in order to develop training practices that will enhance police-community relations. Read More
The COPS Office and the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice have provided overview briefs on topics important to building community safety by improving police legitimacy. Procedural Justice focuses on the way police and other authorities interact with the public and how those interactions can shape the public view of police. Read More
The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, in partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, has released a series of guidebooks intended to serve as a tool for all levels of law enforcement. This is one in a series of three guides, all of which can be found in the "Tools and Guides" section of the National Initiative website. Read More
The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, in partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, has released a series of guidebooks intended to serve as a tool for all levels of law enforcement. This is one in a series of three guides, all of which can be found in the "Tools and Guides" section of the National Initiative website. Read More
In the past several years, incidents between community members and the police have highlighted what many have been feeling for a long time – a lack of a sense of police legitimacy. This comprehensive report, published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, reviews findings from psychological science highlighting the positive impacts of police legitimacy on police-community relations. Read More
On April 4, 2014, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) hosted a conference with law enforcement officials, civil rights activists, academic experts, community leaders, and policymakers at the Ford Foundation offices in New York City. This forum was the first in a series of forums focusing on building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. This publication, recently published by COPS at DOJ, is a great outline of the first of many forums to focus on building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Read More
This report discusses issues raised at an executive session hosted by the COPS Office and the National Network for Safe Communities in Washington, D.C. on January 11, 2012. Read More
The goal of this course is to reintroduce the principles of procedural justice, gain a deeper understanding of the core concepts of police legitimacy, and build better relationships within the communities that we serve via the use of visual and scenario-based training. Click here to view and download the PowerPoint.
The goal of this course is for law enforcement officers to understand and employ the core concepts of police legitimacy and procedural justice in order to build better relationships with the communities they serve. Click here to view and download the PowerPoint.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (The IACP) and the Yale Child Study Center (Yale), with support from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, has launched the Enhancing Police Responses to Children Exposed to Violence: A Toolkit for Law Enforcement. This new toolkit provides practical tools and resources to assist law enforcement agencies in building or enhancing effective operational responses to children exposed to violence (with or without a mental health partner). This toolkit contains tools targeted to police leaders and frontline officers.
"The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) convened three focus groups of community stakeholders, frontline officers, and law enforcement executives to discuss building community trust. They discussed strategies that have been used successfully to develop communities of trust and identified challenges facing law enforcement and the community. This toolkit collects some of the most successful strategies, and tools for engaging communities of color, here defined as people of African, Latino or Hispanic, Native American, Asian, or Pacific Island descent.
Communities of color have faced many decades of real and perceived mistreatment by the justice system and law enforcement, leading to fear, anger, resentment, and distrust. Communities of color often feel marginalized and mistreated. Recognizing and responding to mistrust lies at the heart of building stronger community-police relationships. This requires a variety of resources, protocols, policies, strategies, and training. Communities of color and police must continue to join forces to create safe environments. In this toolkit we share a number of promising programs working to improve community-police relations on a daily basis."
The National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice is a project to improve relationships and increase trust between communities and the criminal justice system and advance the public and scholarly understandings of the issues contributing to those relationships. In September 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a three year, $4.75 million grant to establish the project. In collaboration with the Department of Justice, the National Initiative is coordinated by the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, with partnership from the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School, the Center for Policing Equity at John Jay College and UCLA, and the Urban Institute.
On September 27, 2016, research conducted by the Urban Institute under the National Initiative was presented by Nancy La Vigne at a Congressional Briefing on "Violence and Violence Prevention." At the briefing, which was sponsored by Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP) in collaboration with WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Research Center, La Vigne detailed data collected from surveys distributed to residents of high-crime, low-income neighborhoods in each of the National Initiative’s six pilot sites—Birmingham AL; Fort Worth, TX; Gary, IN; Minneapolis, MN; Pittsburgh, PA; and Stockton, CA—that confirms suspicions of longstanding mistrust between law enforcement and communities of color.
For example, fewer than half of all survey respondents believe that police officers are responsive to community concerns and are held accountable for misconduct. Similarly, more than half of those surveyed agreed that officers judge local residents "based on personal biases or prejudices" and that they treat people differently based on their race or ethnicity.
Despite this high degree of mistrust, law enforcement and communities of color share common ground, with many residents willing to serve as active partners in crime prevention. More than 60 percent of respondents said they would report crimes or suspicious activities to police and about half said they would attend community meetings to discuss crime prevention.
These surveys, part of the National Initiative's research and evaluation component, were distributed in each of our six pilot sites before the project was underway. Following its completion, a second round of surveys will be distributed to measure the impact of interventions oriented around implicit bias, procedural justice, and reconciliation.
Click here to download a PDF of the presentation and below for the video.
The U.S. Department of Justice's Community Relations Service (CRS), aiming to improve interactions between police and transgender individuals, has soft-launched a new cultural professionalism roll-call training video entitled “Law Enforcement and the Transgender Community.” The video, which features scenarios of the three most common ways police officers encounter members of the transgender community, provides the information, tools, and techniques for departments to exercise procedural justice and mitigate implicit bias when interacting with this community.
This webinar describes recent research demonstrating the particular salience of procedural justice to juveniles, a group that has frequent contact with the criminal justice system and whose orientation toward the law is still being established. Presenters discussed how criminal justice actors can use the insights of this research to improve their legitimacy in the eyes of young people in their communities.
Click here to view the webinar and download the webinar handouts: https://ojjdptta.adobeconnect.com/_a1110525827/p2nf6cnuvd0/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal
Police-initiated citizen encounters in American cities often are non-neutral events. As a crime detection and control strategy central to the “new policing,” these encounters often are unproductive and inefficient. They rarely result in arrest or seizure of contraband, and often provoke ill will between citizens and legal authorities that discourages citizen cooperation with police and compliance with law. In Street Stops and Police Legitimacy in New York, Tracey L. Meares and Tom Tyler from the Justice Collabatory at Yale Law School and Jeffrey Fagan from Columbia Law School describe the range of potentially adverse reactions or harms that SQF or ‘street’ policing may produce; link those harms to a broader set of concerns that connect dignity, harm and police legitimacy; and review the evidence that connects citizen views of police – as well as their experience with police – to their perceptions of the legitimacy of the police and criminal legal institutions generally.
Crime victims are a unique subgroup who evaluate the police and police legitimacy more harshly than those who have not been victimized. This could be explained by their victimization, and their special needs from and expectations of the police. Reducing the gap in perceptions of legitimacy of victims and non-victims finds that procedural justice operates similarly for victims and non-victims, but that police performance plays a much more important role as an antecedent for victims.
Victims of crime often feel re-victimised when they come into contact with criminal justice professionals. Police, as first responders to many victimisation experiences, therefore need to be particularly sensitive to the way in which they treat victims if they wish to reduce the occurrence of such secondary victimisation. System contact and procedural justice policing seeks to explore the role that procedural justice policing can play in improving the wellbeing and quality of life of crime victims after system contact.
Participation in risky lifestyles is a well-established predictor of victimization. Several variables have been identified as key predictors of risky activities (e.g., low self-control) but there may be additional sources not considered in the literature to date. Procedural Injustice, Risky Lifestyles, and Violent Victimization argues that perceptions of procedural unfairness represent a break in social control, thereby opening the door for participation in risky lifestyles that are conducive to victimization. The study demonstrates that police procedural injustice was positively associated with risky lifestyles, which partially mediated the relationship between procedural injustice and violent victimization.
Ethnic Identity, Procedural Justice, and Offending examines the interaction between procedural justice and ethnic identity on two measures of offending, self-report and number of arrests, in a longitudinal study of serious juvenile delinquents.
Arrestees’ Perceptions of the Police: Exploring Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and Willingness to Cooperate With Police Across Offender Types explores the relationship between procedural justice, police legitimacy, and willingness to cooperate with police among adults who have recently been arrested. Findings indicate that procedural justice is strongly associated with views of police legitimacy, and perceptions of police legitimacy do not vary by offender type. Procedural justice and legitimacy perceptions are powerful predictors of willingness to cooperate with the police.
This panel from the National Network for Safe Communities' conference discusses the ways law enforcement entities around the country have begun to integrate the principles of community trust, procedural justice, and legitimacy into recruit and in-service training and practice with the aim of improving relationships between law enforcement and the communities it serves. Panelists address how to introduce these concepts into law enforcement organizations, build buy-in, and sustain the practices. Moderated by Megan Quattlebaum, Program Director for the Yale Justice Collaboratory, this panel features Tom Tyler, Macklin Fleming Professor of Law at Yale University; Greg Berman, Executive Director of the Center for Court Innovation; Bruce Lipman, Lieutenant (ret.) at the Chicago Police Department; Ronal Serpas, Superintendent (ret.) of the New Orleans Police Department; and Daniela Gilbert, Deputy Director of the California Partnership for Safe Communities.
Karol V. Mason, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, delivers the keynote address of the National Network for Safe Communities' National Conference 2015.
This plenary session of the National Network for Safe Communities' conference provides an overview of the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice and situates it within the context of the post-Ferguson climate around trust, legitimacy, reform, and reconciliation. Participants discuss the genesis of the National Initiative, its aims and early steps, and its relevance to the national interest in re-examining traditional criminal justice and promoting truth-telling and reconciliation between law enforcement and the communities it serves. Moderated by David Kennedy, Director of the NNSC, this panel features Katherine Darke Schmitt, Policy Advisor in the Office of Justice Programs at the US Department of Justice, Tom Tyler, Macklin Fleming Professor of Law at Yale University, Tracie Keesee, Project Director of the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice, and Priscilla Hayner, independent writer and consultant on truth and reconciliation processes.
This plenary session of the National Network for Safe Communities' conference addresses the cultural shifts taking place in law enforcement agencies and communities around the country. Participants discuss how gradually changing law enforcement practices have affected the relationships between police and the communities they serve, and how momentum has built behind practices that acknowledge history, repair legitimacy, and rebuild public trust. Moderated by Professor Phillip Atiba Goff of the Center for Policing Equity at UCLA, this panel features Chief A.C. Roper of Birmingham Police Dept., Ben McBride, Founder of the Empower Initiative, and Rev. K. Edward Copeland, Pastor of the New Zion Baptist Church of Rockford, IL.
IACP’s Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Victims (ELERV) includes the following resources:
“When any part of the American family does not feel like it is being treated fairly, that’s a problem for all of us,” said the President. “It’s not just a problem for some. It’s not just a problem for a particular community or a particular demographic. It means that we are not as strong as a country as we can be. And when applied to the criminal justice system, it means we’re not as effective in fighting crime as we could be.”
Download and read the full report.
In this video of the Inaugural George and Margaret Barrock Lecture, Professor Tracey Meares of Yale Law School speaks at Marquette Law School on police legitimacy among African-American men.
In this series of short videos, Professor Tracey Meares of Yale Law School discusses the theories of deterrence and legitimacy of law that underpin Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Stockton, California, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Minneapolis, Minnesota, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Gary, Indiana, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Fort Worth, Texas, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Birmingham, Alabama, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones: "It is clearer than ever that to reach significant reductions in violent crime, police trust-building must be a priority. Whether some community members do not report crime or do not work with police due to apathy, fear, or a lack of confidence, it is data-driven policing coupled with trust-building that can begin to change that. Whether some community members do not occupy their public spaces because of perceived or actual crime, smarter policing and trust-building can ease these fears." - Read More
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of six cities of the National Initiative, has proven particularly successful in its work with the Youth-Police Advisory Committee (PGHYPAC), an organization co-founded by Chief Cameron McLay of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and students from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. This organization promotes "reconciliation" between students (grades 6-12) and law enforcement representatives, involving participants from the Mayor's Office, District Attorney's Office, and US Attorney's Office. National Initiative Assists Pittsburgh and Minneapolis in Building Police-Community Trust. Minneapolis, Minnesota, another of the National Initiative’s pilot sites, has announced several changes to the Minneapolis Police Department’s (MPD) use-of-force policy to begin repairing the broken relationship between law enforcement and communities of color. - Read More
The National Initiative would like to take this moment to offer a word of support to all of our law enforcement and community partners. - Read More
On November 19 and 20, 2015, the National Initiative held a rountable discussions hosted by the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School. - Read More
The Department of Justice’s National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice has announced that on February 1, 2016 it will launch a three-day procedural justice training in its six pilot sites, a component of its plan to strengthen the relationship between the criminal justice system and the communities it serves and protects. The pilot sites sent officers to receive training on an innovative procedural justice curriculum in October of 2015. These officers will now deliver the curriculum to the rank-and-file of their departments in an effort to improve the quality of interaction with the public. - Read More
Procedural justice, one of the key pillars of the National Initiative, has been in the spotlight recently thanks to coverage of Judge Victoria Pratt’s court in Newark, New Jersey. - Read More
Improving procedural justice holds great potential to increase trust between authorities and communities and decrease serious crime. Megan Quattlebaum of Yale Law School's Justice Collaboratory writes at OJP Diagnostic Center to explain this pillar of the National Initiative. - Read More
At the 2008 National Institute of Justice Conference, David Kennedy talked about his work to combat drug markets and promote police-community reconciliation, especially within the High Point Intervention, an innovative program now being replicated in many sites nationally under the Drug Market Intervention. - Read More
The National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice is designed to make real and rapid progress on the strained and often broken relationship between many communities -- especially, alienated communities of color -- and law enforcement. - Read More
Fox - June 2018
Minneapolis Police Chief hopes new department position creates better community relations
The New York Times - May 2018
Opinion: A Better Solution for Starbucks
CBS - May 2018
Minneapolis PD Says Use Of Force Dropped By Half In Last Decade
Berkeleyside - May 2018
Berkeley police stops show racial disparities — but what does that mean?
The Stockton Record - April 2018
Town hall on officer-involved shootings brings together law enforcement, south Stockton leaders
The Nation - March 2018
A Crop of Reform-Minded Mayors Is Trying to Fix Policing and Fight Mass Incarceration
NI Newsletter - February 2018
Procedural Justice: More Than Just Being Nice
CityLab - January 2018
What Happened to Crime in Camden?
Steelers.com - December 2017
Working together as one: The Steelers and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police continue to grow their relationship.
NI Newsletter - December 2017
2017 National Initiative Status Reports
Governing Magazine - November 2017
A Better Way to Deal With Intimate-Partner Violence
The Hill - October 2017
Tackling history of race and policing starts with well-informed officers
ACLU Blog - September 2017
The Minneapolis Police Department Is Sharing Data on Police Stops. Other Departments Should Follow.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - September 2017
Pittsburgh’s new multicultural unit will help communication — in Arabic, Chinese, Nepali, Spanish and Swahili
NI Newsletter - July 2017
The Process of Trust Building
CBS Pittsburgh - July 2017
Pittsburgh Police Zone Five Working To Improve Community Relations
YouTube - June 2017
Reducing Harm: Shifting Police Culture and Practice
WFAA - May 2017
Details on Fort Worth Police Department’s Community Procedural Justice Initiative
The Stanford Daily - April 2017
Q&A: Stockton Police Chief aims to regain community’s trust
Star Tribune - April 2017
Female police officers’ de-escalation skills changing tone in Minneapolis
AL.com - April 2017
‘We all need to do this together’: Birmingham police tries to build trust during community walk
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - April 2017
Pittsburgh focuses ‘community policing’ on 18 neighborhoods
Stockton Record - March 2017
Stockton summit highlights strategies for law enforcement
The Stockton Record - March 2017
Stockton Police reach out to clarify role, assure Latino community
The Stockton Record - March 2017
Stockton community member: Getting ‘a seat at the table’
The Stockton Record - March 2017
Listening in a new way
PA Times - February 2017
A Tale of Six Cities
Cleveland.com - December 2016
13 Places that Saw Bail Reform in 2016
Minneapolis Post - November 2016
Working together to ensure public safety in 21st-century Minneapolis
Stockton Record - November 2016
Stockton Police Department Making Progress on Community Policing
Minneapolis Star Tribune - November 2016
Minneapolis detective draws on deep community roots
Seattle KUOW - November 2016
Expert: Research Suggests Body Cameras Have “Civilizing Effect”
The Pitt News - November 2016
McLay resigned, but his reforms should remain
The Birmingham Times - November 2016
Birmingham’s Playbook for Community Policing
Huffington Post - October 2016
Can Empathy Improve Policing?
- October 2016
City of Pittsburgh Joins White House-Driven Police Data Initiative
WalletHub - October 2016
Should Police Wear Body Cameras? Experts Pick Sides
Minneapolis Star Tribune - August 2016
Minneapolis police reveal changes to use-of-force policy
The New York Times - August 2016
Barriers to Reforming Police Practices
The New York Times - July 2016
A Strategy to Build Police-Citizen Trust
Star Tribune - July 2016
Minneapolis expands diversion programs for misdemeanor offenses
Recordnet.com - July 2016
A matter of trust: Community officer serves, guides, befriends, respects
California Police Chiefs - July 2016
Principled Policing
New York Times - July 2016
Policing the Police on Stop-and-Frisk
KSTP - July 2016
New Minneapolis Program Gives First-Time Offenders of Obstruction a Second Chance
Crain's - July 2016
Chicago should be commended for police reforms, not dissed
Kokomo Perspective - April 2016
Gary police already implementing change
The Crime Report - April 2016
Let’s Train Cops For ‘Compassionate Policing’
The Crime Report - April 2016
Why Chicago’s Black Youth Distrust Cops
The Crime Report - March 2016
A Police Chief’s Apology for the Drug War
Politico - March 2016
Justice Department touts success in charging fewer but more serious drug cases
Long Beach Gazette - March 2016
Long Beach’s Diversion Program Offers Choices For Youth
New York Times - March 2016
A Federal Judge’s New Model for Forgiveness
VICE News - March 2016
There’s a New Way for People Arrested in NYC to Avoid Jail
The Crime Report - March 2016
Why Cops Need to Support Justice Reforms
United States Department of Justice - March 2016
Fines and Fees Resource Guide
New York Times - March 2016
Justice Dept. Condemns Profit-Minded Court Policies Targeting the Poor
The Texas Tribune - March 2016
Conviction Integrity Units Expand Beyond Texas Roots
California Partnership for Safe Communities - March 2016
Strengthening Community-Police Relations: Training as a Tool for Change
Daily Herald - March 2016
How Kane County mental health court reshaped 3 lives
Southwest Journal - March 2016
Police and community take a hard look at implicit bias
Minneapolis Post - March 2016
Avoiding ‘lawful but awful’: How Minneapolis and St. Paul police officials are looking to change when officers use deadly force
ABC 57 - March 2016
South Bend Police Chief answers community questions
Gothamist - March 2016
The NYPD Will Stop Making Arrests For Most Low-Level Offenses In Manhattan
Office of Justice Programs - March 2016
Office for Victims of Crime Resource Guide
The Crime Report - February 2016
Reinventing America’s Police Forces
Rockford Register Star - February 2016
Rockford cops aim to cut violent crime, improve community policing with new programs
Vera Institute of Justice - February 2016
The Human Toll of Jail
Christian Science Monitor - February 2016
Chicago attempts to recruit more diverse police candidates
New York Times - February 2016
Woman Exonerated After Serving 10 Years for Manslaughter Conviction
Star Tribune - February 2016
In Minneapolis, a time for change on policing and race
WBAL TV Baltimore - February 2016
Baltimore Police Department to undergo major changes
ABC 5 Minneapolis - February 2016
Minneapolis Police Training Looks to Transform Police, Resident Interaction
FOX 9 Minneapolis - February 2016
Minneapolis part of Dept. of Justice initiative to build trust between community, police
Stockton Record - February 2016
‘Café con los Policias:’ Stockton police reach out to Latino community
ABC 5 Minneapolis - February 2016
National Pilot Program on Police-Community Relations Gets Underway in Mpls.
John Jay College News - February 2016
American Justice Summit Draws Leading Voices on Criminal Justice Reform
MSR News Online - January 2016
Pilot project seeks ways to build police-community trust
KRON 4- San Francisco - January 2016
SFPD officers make pledge against racism
New York Times - January 2016
Massachusetts Chief’s Tack in Drug War: Steer Addicts to Rehab, Not Jail
Chicago Tribune - January 2016
Former Chicago officer returns to advise department on civil rights reform
Star Tribune - January 2016
New Minneapolis diversion program swaps fines, jail time for conversation with an officer
Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration - January 2016
Over 70 Top Police Chiefs and Prosecutors Urge Congress to Pass Criminal Justice Reform
Center for Court Innovation - January 2016
Race, Data, and Procedural Justice: A Conversation with David Slayton
Criminal Justice and Behavior - January 2016
Arrestees Perceptions of the Police: Exploring Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and Willingness to Cooperate With Police Across Offender Types
PBS - January 2016
How NYC is tackling 1.4 million open arrest warrants for ‘quality-of-life’ crimes
Stockton Record - January 2016
Stockton Crime Rate at 15-Year Low
Chicago Reader - January 2016
Cook County’s most unconventional judge takes justice beyond the bench
The Marshall Project - January 2016
Philly’s Retiring Police Commissioner on Facing Corruption and What People Get Wrong about Police Shootings
Hudson Valley News Network - December 2015
Newburgh Police Crave Community Connection
Albany Times Union - December 2015
Albany police get $70,000 for diversion program manager
New York Times - December 2015
Fight Crime Sensibly, Not Hysterically
Houston Chronicle - December 2015
Feds release new guidance to prevent gender-bias policing
SanJoaquin.com-Blog - December 2015
First in series of youth forums “to educate … about rights and responsibilities when encountering police”
New York Magazine - December 2015
Smart Policing and the NYPD
Association for Psychological Science - December 2015
The Impact of Psychological Science on Policing in the United States: Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and Effective Law Enforcement
Washington Post - December 2015
Creating guardians, calming warriors
Yale Law School - December 2015
Professor Tracey Meares on Procedural Justice and The Justice Collaboratory
The News and Observer- Raleigh, NC - December 2015
Raleigh chief hopes “Face-to-Face” meetings will build community relationships
WESA- Pittsburgh - December 2015
Pittsburgh Police Share Plan To Build Trust With, Protect City’s Muslim Population
VICE - December 2015
How Some Cities Are Helping Drug Offenders Instead of Arresting Them
The Crime Report - December 2015
San Francisco Called a Model for Ending Mass Incarceration
San Diego Union-Tribune - November 2015
SDPD’s drive to get back to community policing
New York Daily News - November 2015
Manhattan DA hosts ‘Clean Slate’ event in Harlem, open to anyone facing arrest warrants for minor crimes
MPR News - November 2015
Minneapolis police getting training on ‘procedural justice’
The Atlantic - November 2015
New Haven’s Top Cop: Chief Esserman’s Vision for Community Policing
Dallas Morning News - November 2015
Dallas police excessive-force complaints drop dramatically
State of California, Office of the Attorney General - November 2015
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Kicks Off First-of-its-Kind Law Enforcement Training on Implicit Bias & Procedural Justice
Los Angeles Times - November 2015
A frenzied start for state’s traffic ticket amnesty program
Philadelphia Daily News - November 2015
Cops get reminder about lawful stops
The News Journal - November 2015
Will Delaware End Cash Bail?
New York Times - November 2015
Police Chiefs, Looking to Diversify Forces, Face Structural Hurdles
Boston Globe - November 2015
Undoing the damage of mass incarceration
Los Angeles Times - November 2015
LAPD to compile ‘much more comprehensive’ review of force, chief says
The Marshall Project - November 2015
6,000 People Are About to be Freed From Federal Custody — Here’s What They’ll Face
CBS-SF Bay Area - October 2015
Lawsuit Aims To End San Francisco’s Money-Based Bail System
Brooklyn Magazine - October 2015
Young Justice: Inside the Red Hook Youth Court
Wall Street Journal - October 2015
New Think Tank Aims to Train, Study Prosecutors
The Marshall Project - October 2015
For Men in Prison, Child Support Becomes a Crushing Debt
The Crime Report - October 2015
“Coming Home:” Recidivism Rates Lower for Harlem Reentry Court Parolees
The Center for Public Integrity - October 2015
Virginia moves forward on school discipline reforms
New York Times - October 2015
Brooklyn Program Erasing Warrants for Low-Level Offenses
Governing Magazine - October 2015
The Changing Relationship Between Ex-Criminals and Their Parole Officers
St. Louis America - October 2015
City prosecutor launches felony diversion program, federal grant will fund innovative response to select first-time gun charges
Huffington Post - October 2015
The Unnecessarily High Cost of Inmate Calling Charges Is an Injustice
New York Times - October 2015
Instead of Jail, Court Fines Cut to Fit the Wallet
NBC 29- Virginia - October 2015
VA Attorney General Outlines Impartial Policing Initiative
New York Times - October 2015
New York’s Chief Judge, Citing ‘Injustice,’ Lays Out Plans to Alter Bail System
Huffington Post - October 2015
Decision Points: Pursuing Innovation in Prosecution
New York Times - October 2015
Sentencing Overhaul Proposed in Senate With Bipartisan Backing
Pretrial Justice Institute - October 2015
Lessons from the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative
The Christian Science Monitor - October 2015
Traffic fines forgiven: Why California is offering amnesty for poor
New York Times - October 2015
New York Police Will Document Virtually All Instances of Force
Minnesota Daily - September 2015
Minneapolis targeting police interactions
Orlando Sentinel - September 2015
Chief judge quashes 21,000 arrest orders, ends debt-collection policy
Norwood Transcript and Bulletin - September 2015
Police chiefs release improvement plan
The Seattle Times - September 2015
Prosecutor-funded program helps kids do a 180, avoid charges
The News Tribune - August 2015
Project Peace conversations aim at bettering relations between Tacoma police, citizens
MinnPost - August 2015
The professors and the police: How a Minneapolis project may change the way cops everywhere relate to the public
Talk Radio News Service - July 2015
AG Lynch: DOJ Is Working Towards Racial Reconciliation
WNDU - July 2015
Police and the Public – Part 3: Lessons, advice from Gary and Kalamazoo
WNDU - July 2015
Police and the Public – Part 2: Gary Police partners with Department of Justice
AL.com - June 2015
Birmingham teen tells it straight to U.S. Attorney General: ‘We’re taught young to hate the police’
Star Tribune - June 2015
Minneapolis police training aims to help officers recognize biases
WVTM13 - June 2015
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks in Birmingham
AL.com - June 2015
Attorney General Loretta Lynch to bring community policing tour to Birmingham
The Guardian - June 2015
The simple idea that could transform US criminal justice
Real Estate Rama - May 2015
Community Meeting Thursday On National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - May 2015
Pittsburgh meeting part of attempt to boost police-community ties
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - May 2015
What does good policing look like?
The Hill - May 2015
The Crisis of Police Legitimacy
Baltimore Sun - May 2015
Why Freddie Gray ran
Signal Tribune - March 2015
Commentary: Bridging faith and law-enforcement communities
PBS - March 2015
Tavis Smiley: Center for Policing Equity Pres. Phillip Atiba Goff, Ph.D.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - March 2015
Pittsburgh named pilot site for federal initiative to build trust with law enforcement
NPR News - March 2015
U.S. Attorney General Holder Denounces Police Shootings In Missouri
Miami Herald - March 2015
Justice Dept. uses grants to encourage good community-police relations
Chicago Tribune - March 2015
Gary one of six cities in police-community pilot program
CBS Pittsburgh - March 2015
Pittsburgh Among 6 Cities Chosen For Project On Curbing Racial Bias
CBS DFW - March 2015
Fort Worth In Trial Program To Help Build Police/Community Trust
Recordnet.com - March 2015
DOJ names Stockton for police-community pilot program
Fort Worth Star-Telegram - March 2015
Fort Worth to be a part of federal initiative to build trust with law enforcement
Minneapolis Star Tribune - March 2015
Minneapolis chosen for program to reduce racially biased policing
PBS News Hour - March 2015
Federal pilot project seeks to stem racial bias in law enforcement
- March 2015
Attorney General Holder Announces the First Six Pilot Sites for the National Initiative
Guardian - March 2015
Eric Holder on US policing – full text of the speech
Here's the Thing with Alec Baldwin - March 2015
Bryan Stevenson Wants “Equal Justice”
The White House - March 2015
What 21st Century Policing Means
The White House - March 2015
Remarks by the President after Meeting with Task Force on 21st Century Policing
Lima Ohio - February 2015
Police urged to directly engage minority communities
The Center on Media, Crime and Justice - February 2015
2015 H.F. Guggenheim Conference on Crime in America
ABC7 - January 2015
Training program focused on police community relations
New Haven Register - January 2015
New Haven police chief named to board of national ‘trust’ intitiative
The Crime Report - January 2015
Citizen Distrust Of Police Can Fuel Violence, David Kennedy Contends
The Epoch Times - January 2015
Research Institute Teaches Police Departments How to Police Fairly
The Huffington Post - December 2014
A Blueprint for Local Police Reform to Improve Legitimacy
WNYC - December 2014
The Police-Community Divide
New York Daily News - December 2014
Building back trust to save lives
The White House, Office of the Press Secretary - September 2014
Remarks by the President at Congressional Black Caucus Awards Dinner
St. Louis Public Radio - September 2014
Justice Department Launches Effort To Establish Trust Between Police, Communities
Vox - September 2014
The next frontier in police reform: training cops in empathy
Fusion - September 2014
Does race matter in policing?
The New Republic - August 2014
Ferguson’s Schools Are Just as Troubling as Its Police Force
NPR - August 2014
For People Of Color, Relationships With Police Are Complicated
WNYC - July 2014
Old Cops Teach New Picks
MSNBC's Ronan Farrow Daily - April 2014
Call to Action: Under arrest at school
Chicago Sun Times - February 2014
Chicago Police ‘custom notifications’: Is it profiling?
Essence Magazine - December 2013
What Does it Take to Change a LIfe?
WNYC News - November 2013
In Harm’s Way: Remembering New York City’s Kids Killed by Gunfire
Indy Week - November 2013
Can police prevent domestic violence simply by telling offenders to stop?
WBEZ's Morning Shift - November 2013
National perceptions of Chicago violence don’t match up with reality
New York Times - September 2013
Frisking Tactic Yields to a Focus on Youth Gangs
New York Daily News - July 2013
Getting beyond stop-and-frisk
WNYC - April 2013
Flashpoint: A Tale of Two Police Forces
WGBH - April 2013
David Kennedy: Unorthodox Ways to Stem Crime
Delaware Online - October 2011
Two views on violence
Providence Journal - June 2011
Police, residents work to lower crime at Providence’s troubled Chad Brown project
Seattle Times - May 2010
East Palo Alto chief rebuilt city’s trust in police
Reconciliation is a method of facilitating frank engagements between minority communities, police and other authorities that allow them to address historical tensions, grievances, and misconceptions, and reset relationships.
Reconciliation is a method of facilitating frank engagements between minority communities, police and other authorities that allow them to address historical tensions, grievances, and misconceptions, and reset relationships. Respect, collaboration, and effective working relationships between police and the communities they serve are central to both community safety and effective policing. However, in many communities where serious crime is concentrated, mutual mistrust and misunderstanding prevent police and communities from working together.
The reconciliation process recognizes the very real American history of abusive law enforcement practices toward minority communities, beginning with slavery. It also respects—without endorsing—the sometimes damaging narratives each side has about the other. Many people in minority communities affected by high levels of violent crime and disorder genuinely believe that police are using drug laws and other law enforcement as a means to oppress them. Their alienation is fueled by the history of slavery, Jim Crow, and other legal oppression of minorities; high levels of intrusive police tactics like arrest and stop-and-frisk; and disrespectful behavior by police. When these communities are furious with the police, they are not inclined to work with the criminal justice system or speak out publicly against violence and crime. Serious offenders may wrongly believe that their own communities tolerate or even support their behavior.
Conversely, some in law enforcement genuinely believe that troubled minority communities are broadly tolerant of—and even complicit in—crime and violence. In fact, both research and national field experience clearly show that high-crime minority communities are the least tolerant of crime and disorder,1 and that in the most apparently dangerous communities the overwhelming majority of people do not behave violently.2 However, where police believe otherwise, they are more inclined to treat entire communities as criminal and employ aggressive and intrusive tactics.
The process of racial reconciliation addresses these deeply troubled relationships through engagement between law enforcement and community members about the long American history of legal abuse of minorities; the fact that traditional law enforcement has sometimes been both ineffective and caused unintentional damage to individuals, families, and communities; how police have often treated minority individuals and communities with disrespect; and the sincere desire of law enforcement to act differently and do better. There is, in turn, an engagement about the central importance, if there is to be community safety, of clear and powerful community norms against violence and other serious crime, and an effective working relationship with law enforcement.
The aim of racial reconciliation is that communities and law enforcement come to see that 1) they misunderstand each other in important ways, 2) both have been contributing to harms neither desires, 3) in crucial areas, both want fundamentally the same things, and 4) there is an immediate opportunity for partnership that can concretely benefit both the community and the authorities that serve it. The process reveals real common ground, shows police that communities reject violence and want to work with them in new ways, and facilitates communities in expressing strong and meaningful norms against violence and for good behavior.
This racial reconciliation approach was originally developed as part of the National Network for Safe Communities’ Drug Market Intervention, which has been effective in addressing crime and disorder in particularly troubled neighborhoods nationally.3 Some high-level police executives have been willing to make powerful public statements acknowledging history and seeking to foster reconciliation efforts. Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy has embraced these ideas and is setting a national standard for speaking about them publicly. Said McCarthy in a 2013 interview with WBEZ Chicago:
I understand the historical divide between police and communities of color – it’s rooted in the history of this country. The most visible arm of government is a police force, and the institutionalized governmental programs that promoted racist policies that were enforced by police departments in this country are part of the African American history in this country. And we have to recognize it because recognition is the first step towards finding a cure towards what is ailing us. Over the years we’ve actually done a lot of things wrong and I’m willing to admit that.
The National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice will seek to build on existing reconciliation practices, employ them on a wider geographic scale in cities, and adapt them to different racial and ethnic communities, youth, victims of crime, and the LGBQTI community.
La Vigne, N., Fontaine, J., & Dwivedi, A. 2017. How Do People in High-Crime, Low-Income Communities View the Police?. Urban Institute. https://nnscommunities.org/uploads/how_do_people_in_high-crime_view_the_police.pdf
Beattie, G., Cohen, D., & McGuire, L. (2013). An exploration of possible unconscious ethnic biases in higher education: The role of implicit attitudes on selection for university posts. Semiotica 2013, 197, 171-201.
Hough, M., Jackson, J., Bradford, B., Myhill, A., & Quinton, P. (2010). Procedural justice, trust, and institutional legitimacy. Policing, 4(3), 203-210.
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (2012). Strengthening the Relationship Between Law Enforcement and Communities of Color. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
Tyler, T. R. (2001). Trust and law abidingness: A proactive model of social regulation. Boston University Law Rev., 81, 361-406.
Tyler, T. R. (2005). Policing in black and white: Ethnic group differences in trust and confidence in the police. Police Quarterly, 8(3), 322-342.
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This document describes the principal elements we have identified as essential to the reconciliation process, and identifies a process and key steps. It is focused on police/community relations, while recognizing that the framework presented here may ideally be extended to other criminal justice institutions. Read More
Stockton Chief of Police Eric Jones published his thoughts on what he calls "principled policing" and how the Stockton Police Department is using that concept to build trust with its community and enhance public safety. Read More
The COPS Office and the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice have provided overview briefs on topics important to building community safety by improving police legitimacy. Reconciliation focuses on a method of engaging minority communities and police or other authorities in order to repair relationships. Read More
The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, in partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, has released a series of guidebooks intended to serve as a tool for all levels of law enforcement. This is one in a series of three guides, all of which can be found in the "Tools and Guides" section of the National Initiative website. Read More
The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, in partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, has released a series of guidebooks intended to serve as a tool for all levels of law enforcement. This is one in a series of three guides, all of which can be found in the "Tools and Guides" section of the National Initiative website. Read More
On April 4, 2014, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) hosted a conference with law enforcement officials, civil rights activists, academic experts, community leaders, and policymakers at the Ford Foundation offices in New York City. This forum was the first in a series of forums focusing on building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. This publication, recently published by COPS at DOJ, is a great outline of the first of many forums to focus on building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Read More
This report discusses issues raised at an executive session hosted by the COPS Office and the National Network for Safe Communities in Washington, D.C. on January 11, 2012. Read More
"The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) convened three focus groups of community stakeholders, frontline officers, and law enforcement executives to discuss building community trust. They discussed strategies that have been used successfully to develop communities of trust and identified challenges facing law enforcement and the community. This toolkit collects some of the most successful strategies, and tools for engaging communities of color, here defined as people of African, Latino or Hispanic, Native American, Asian, or Pacific Island descent.
Communities of color have faced many decades of real and perceived mistreatment by the justice system and law enforcement, leading to fear, anger, resentment, and distrust. Communities of color often feel marginalized and mistreated. Recognizing and responding to mistrust lies at the heart of building stronger community-police relationships. This requires a variety of resources, protocols, policies, strategies, and training. Communities of color and police must continue to join forces to create safe environments. In this toolkit we share a number of promising programs working to improve community-police relations on a daily basis."
The National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice is a project to improve relationships and increase trust between communities and the criminal justice system and advance the public and scholarly understandings of the issues contributing to those relationships. In September 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a three year, $4.75 million grant to establish the project. In collaboration with the Department of Justice, the National Initiative is coordinated by the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, with partnership from the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School, the Center for Policing Equity at John Jay College and UCLA, and the Urban Institute.
This webinar describes the National Initiative's implementation efforts in its six pilot sites and gives background on the concepts and practices of reconciliation. In many communities where public trust in law enforcement has been compromised, a deliberate process of reconciliation is necessary before law enforcement and communities can work together to improve public safety. The presenter, David Kennedy, described the developing practices associated with reconciliation, how they can improve public trust and collaboration with law enforcement, and how this will be carried out in the National Initiative's six pilot sites.
Click here to view the full webinar: https://ojjdptta.adobeconnect.com/_a1110525827/p6pteavmg2a/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal
Karol V. Mason, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, delivers the keynote address of the National Network for Safe Communities' National Conference 2015.
This plenary session of the National Network for Safe Communities' conference provides an overview of the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice and situates it within the context of the post-Ferguson climate around trust, legitimacy, reform, and reconciliation. Participants discuss the genesis of the National Initiative, its aims and early steps, and its relevance to the national interest in re-examining traditional criminal justice and promoting truth-telling and reconciliation between law enforcement and the communities it serves. Moderated by David Kennedy, Director of the NNSC, this panel features Katherine Darke Schmitt, Policy Advisor in the Office of Justice Programs at the US Department of Justice, Tom Tyler, Macklin Fleming Professor of Law at Yale University, Tracie Keesee, Project Director of the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice, and Priscilla Hayner, independent writer and consultant on truth and reconciliation processes.
This plenary session of the National Network for Safe Communities' conference addresses the cultural shifts taking place in law enforcement agencies and communities around the country. Participants discuss how gradually changing law enforcement practices have affected the relationships between police and the communities they serve, and how momentum has built behind practices that acknowledge history, repair legitimacy, and rebuild public trust. Moderated by Professor Phillip Atiba Goff of the Center for Policing Equity at UCLA, this panel features Chief A.C. Roper of Birmingham Police Dept., Ben McBride, Founder of the Empower Initiative, and Rev. K. Edward Copeland, Pastor of the New Zion Baptist Church of Rockford, IL.
“When any part of the American family does not feel like it is being treated fairly, that’s a problem for all of us,” said the President. “It’s not just a problem for some. It’s not just a problem for a particular community or a particular demographic. It means that we are not as strong as a country as we can be. And when applied to the criminal justice system, it means we’re not as effective in fighting crime as we could be.”
Download and read the full report.
In this video of the Inaugural George and Margaret Barrock Lecture, Professor Tracey Meares of Yale Law School speaks at Marquette Law School on police legitimacy among African-American men.
In this series of short videos, Professor Tracey Meares of Yale Law School discusses the theories of deterrence and legitimacy of law that underpin Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Stockton, California, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Minneapolis, Minnesota, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Gary, Indiana, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Fort Worth, Texas, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Birmingham, Alabama, is one of six pilot sites employing strategies, examining policies, and developing evidence through research to reduce implicit bias, enhance procedural justice, and promote racial reconciliation. - Learn More
Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones: "It is clearer than ever that to reach significant reductions in violent crime, police trust-building must be a priority. Whether some community members do not report crime or do not work with police due to apathy, fear, or a lack of confidence, it is data-driven policing coupled with trust-building that can begin to change that. Whether some community members do not occupy their public spaces because of perceived or actual crime, smarter policing and trust-building can ease these fears." - Read More
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of six cities of the National Initiative, has proven particularly successful in its work with the Youth-Police Advisory Committee (PGHYPAC), an organization co-founded by Chief Cameron McLay of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and students from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. This organization promotes "reconciliation" between students (grades 6-12) and law enforcement representatives, involving participants from the Mayor's Office, District Attorney's Office, and US Attorney's Office. National Initiative Assists Pittsburgh and Minneapolis in Building Police-Community Trust. Minneapolis, Minnesota, another of the National Initiative’s pilot sites, has announced several changes to the Minneapolis Police Department’s (MPD) use-of-force policy to begin repairing the broken relationship between law enforcement and communities of color. - Read More
The National Initiative would like to take this moment to offer a word of support to all of our law enforcement and community partners. - Read More
On November 19 and 20, 2015, the National Initiative held a rountable discussions hosted by the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School. - Read More
On March 13, at the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement (NOBLE) William R. Bracey CEO Symposium, New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton delivered a powerful message about the state of policing in New York City and across the nation. He addressed historical wrongs the police have done; acknowledged tensions, both past and recent; and presented a vision for the NYPD to “set right” relations with the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods by hearing their input and providing improved public safety. - Read More
At the 2008 National Institute of Justice Conference, David Kennedy talked about his work to combat drug markets and promote police-community reconciliation, especially within the High Point Intervention, an innovative program now being replicated in many sites nationally under the Drug Market Intervention. - Read More
The National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice is designed to make real and rapid progress on the strained and often broken relationship between many communities -- especially, alienated communities of color -- and law enforcement. - Read More
The New York Times - May 2018
Opinion: A Better Solution for Starbucks
Berkeleyside - May 2018
Berkeley police stops show racial disparities — but what does that mean?
Fox - April 2018
Minneapolis works to build trust with immigrant communities
The Stockton Record - April 2018
Town hall on officer-involved shootings brings together law enforcement, south Stockton leaders
The Nation - March 2018
A Crop of Reform-Minded Mayors Is Trying to Fix Policing and Fight Mass Incarceration
Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle - March 2018
Pittsburgh police and Holocaust Center partner on day of training
NI Newsletter - February 2018
Procedural Justice: More Than Just Being Nice
Oregon Public Broadcasting - January 2018
Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw Delivers Speech On Race And Policing
NI Newsletter - December 2017
2017 National Initiative Status Reports
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - September 2017
Pittsburgh’s new multicultural unit will help communication — in Arabic, Chinese, Nepali, Spanish and Swahili
Star Tribune - August 2017
Now Minneapolis’ top cop, Medaria Arradondo brings useful skills to big task
NI Newsletter - July 2017
The Process of Trust Building
CBS Sacramento - July 2017
Stockton Police Department Reaching Out To Spanish-Speaking Community
CBS Pittsburgh - July 2017
Pittsburgh Police Zone Five Working To Improve Community Relations
- July 2017
Stockton police listening tour aimed at building trust
YouTube - June 2017
Police, Community, History, and Truth-Telling
YouTube - June 2017
Community Voices: Speaking, Hearing, Responding
YouTube - June 2017
Police-Community Reconciliation: Framework and Practice
YouTube - June 2017
Reducing Harm: Shifting Police Culture and Practice
WFAA - May 2017
Details on Fort Worth Police Department’s Community Procedural Justice Initiative
The Stanford Daily - April 2017
Q&A: Stockton Police Chief aims to regain community’s trust
New Haven Independent - April 2017
They Say Trust Can Be Rebuilt in New Haven
AL.com - April 2017
‘We all need to do this together’: Birmingham police tries to build trust during community walk
Stockton Record - March 2017
Stockton summit highlights strategies for law enforcement
NI Newsletter - March 2017
Building New Bridges
The Stockton Record - March 2017
Stockton Police reach out to clarify role, assure Latino community
The Stockton Record - March 2017
Stockton community member: Getting ‘a seat at the table’
The Stockton Record - March 2017
Listening in a new way
PA Times - February 2017
A Tale of Six Cities
Stockton Record - December 2016
Stockton Police Look To Open Dialogue With Community
NI Newsletter - December 2016
Police-Community Reconciliation: Making Progress in 2016
Complex Magazine - November 2016
How Do We Unlearn Racism
The Pitt News - November 2016
McLay resigned, but his reforms should remain
The Birmingham Times - November 2016
Birmingham’s Playbook for Community Policing
Huffington Post - October 2016
Can Empathy Improve Policing?
Washington Post - October 2016
U.S. police chiefs group apologizes for ‘historical mistreatment’ of minorities
Minneapolis Star Tribune - August 2016
Minneapolis police reveal changes to use-of-force policy
90.5 WESA - August 2016
McLay Apologizes For ‘Horrible, Unjust’ History Between Police And Communities Of Color
The New York Times - July 2016
A Strategy to Build Police-Citizen Trust
WVTM - July 2016
Birmingham mayor, police chief speak on community-police relations
California Police Chiefs - July 2016
Principled Policing
USA Today - July 2016
Some police agencies are easing racial tensions
The Globe and Mail - July 2016
For change to happen, Americans must confront the pain of black history
NBC News - July 2016
50 Years After Watts Riots, Cops and Community Leaders Heal Old Wounds
KSTP - July 2016
New Minneapolis Program Gives First-Time Offenders of Obstruction a Second Chance
Southwest Journal - July 2016
Hodges focuses on city’s ‘deep truths’ in State of the City speech
Crain's - July 2016
Chicago should be commended for police reforms, not dissed
Jackson Free Press - May 2016
‘Police vs. Black’: Bridging the ‘Racialized Gulf’
New York Times - April 2016
Virginia Governor Restores Voting Rights to Felons
Chicago Tribune - April 2016
Chicago police must face ‘hard truths’ about racist past, task force draft report says
MinnPost - April 2016
First step in building community trust and justice: Acknowledge past harms
WAMC Northeast Public Radio - April 2016
LEAD Launch: Smart Criminal Justice Reform Begins In Albany
Jacksonville Florida Times-Union - April 2016
Jacksonville city leaders talk about diversity and easing racial tensions
The Crime Report - March 2016
A Police Chief’s Apology for the Drug War
Los Angeles Times - March 2016
Join an L.A. police officer on his skid row beat
WBHM 90.3 FM - March 2016
A Day in the Life of a Birmingham Walking Beat Cop
NWI.com - March 2016
Gary looking into police civilian review board
The Crime Report - March 2016
Why Cops Need to Support Justice Reforms
CBS Minnesota - March 2016
Minneapolis Police Department Looks Back At Roots Of Diversity
Christian Science Monitor - February 2016
Chicago attempts to recruit more diverse police candidates
Houston Chronicle - February 2016
McClelland presided over ‘culture change’ at HPD
PBS - February 2016
How one chief tried to reverse police wrongs of the civil rights era
Star Tribune - February 2016
In Minneapolis, a time for change on policing and race
Public Source - February 2016
Police push community outreach, revised anti-violence strategy
ABC 5 Minneapolis - February 2016
Minneapolis Police Training Looks to Transform Police, Resident Interaction
FOX 9 Minneapolis - February 2016
Minneapolis part of Dept. of Justice initiative to build trust between community, police
Stockton Record - February 2016
‘Café con los Policias:’ Stockton police reach out to Latino community
ABC 5 Minneapolis - February 2016
National Pilot Program on Police-Community Relations Gets Underway in Mpls.
John Jay College News - February 2016
American Justice Summit Draws Leading Voices on Criminal Justice Reform
ABC News - January 2016
UN Working Group Suggests US Work on Racial Reconciliation
MSR News Online - January 2016
Pilot project seeks ways to build police-community trust
KRON 4- San Francisco - January 2016
SFPD officers make pledge against racism
Chicago Tribune - January 2016
Former Chicago officer returns to advise department on civil rights reform
Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration - January 2016
Over 70 Top Police Chiefs and Prosecutors Urge Congress to Pass Criminal Justice Reform
PBS - January 2016
How NYC is tackling 1.4 million open arrest warrants for ‘quality-of-life’ crimes
Stockton Record - January 2016
Stockton Crime Rate at 15-Year Low
Hudson Valley News Network - December 2015
Newburgh Police Crave Community Connection
SanJoaquin.com-Blog - December 2015
First in series of youth forums “to educate … about rights and responsibilities when encountering police”
Association for Psychological Science - December 2015
The Impact of Psychological Science on Policing in the United States: Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and Effective Law Enforcement
Yale Law School - December 2015
Professor Tracey Meares on Procedural Justice and The Justice Collaboratory
The News and Observer- Raleigh, NC - December 2015
Raleigh chief hopes “Face-to-Face” meetings will build community relationships
NJ.Com - December 2015
Why N.J. police department is brushing up on American History 101
WESA- Pittsburgh - December 2015
Pittsburgh Police Share Plan To Build Trust With, Protect City’s Muslim Population
VICE - December 2015
How Some Cities Are Helping Drug Offenders Instead of Arresting Them
DNAinfo - December 2015
Improving Police-Community Relations One Improv at a Time
The Crime Report - December 2015
San Francisco Called a Model for Ending Mass Incarceration
San Diego Union-Tribune - November 2015
SDPD’s drive to get back to community policing
New York Times - November 2015
Kentucky Governor Restores Voting Rights to Thousands of Felons
New York Daily News - November 2015
Manhattan DA hosts ‘Clean Slate’ event in Harlem, open to anyone facing arrest warrants for minor crimes
MPR News - November 2015
Minneapolis police getting training on ‘procedural justice’
Chicago Tribune - November 2015
Black Chicago police officers work in schools to defuse distrust
The Atlantic - November 2015
New Haven’s Top Cop: Chief Esserman’s Vision for Community Policing
State of California, Office of the Attorney General - November 2015
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Kicks Off First-of-its-Kind Law Enforcement Training on Implicit Bias & Procedural Justice
Los Angeles Times - November 2015
A frenzied start for state’s traffic ticket amnesty program
NJTV News - November 2015
Opening Lines of Communication Between Police and Communities in Newark
Philadelphia Daily News - November 2015
Cops get reminder about lawful stops
The News Journal - November 2015
Will Delaware End Cash Bail?
New York Times - November 2015
Police Chiefs, Looking to Diversify Forces, Face Structural Hurdles
Boston Globe - November 2015
Undoing the damage of mass incarceration
The Marshall Project - November 2015
6,000 People Are About to be Freed From Federal Custody — Here’s What They’ll Face
New York Times - October 2015
The Disproportionate Risks of Driving While Black
New York Daily News - October 2015
NYPD recruits will be required to learn the ‘realities of racism’ by watching ‘Anne & Emmett’
WBTV 3-Charlotte - October 2015
Charlotte Community Members Talk Race, Bias at Special Conference
Los Angeles Daily News - October 2015
LA County Sheriff aims to recruit deputies with strong moral compass
Chicago Tribune - October 2015
Gary joins pilot justice program
NJ.Com - October 2015
More than 150 N.J. cops get bias training at NAACP conference
New York Times - October 2015
Brooklyn Program Erasing Warrants for Low-Level Offenses
New York Times - October 2015
Watts, 50 Years On, Stands in Contrast to Today’s Conflicts
The Crime Report - October 2015
Brooklyn District Attorney Aims to Reset Community Relations
Charleston Post and Courier - September 2015
Charleston Leaders Announce Effort to Build Police Trust
CBC News- Manitoba - September 2015
Winnipeg Officers Get ‘fair policing’ Training to Cut Bias, Racism at Work
Norwood Transcript and Bulletin - September 2015
Police Chiefs Release Plan to Increase Trust
Minnesota Daily - September 2015
Minneapolis targeting police interactions
Orlando Sentinel - September 2015
Chief judge quashes 21,000 arrest orders, ends debt-collection policy
Norwood Transcript and Bulletin - September 2015
Police chiefs release improvement plan
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - September 2015
Chief McLay, one year on, keeps faith with community policing
The News Tribune - August 2015
Project Peace conversations aim at bettering relations between Tacoma police, citizens
MinnPost - August 2015
The professors and the police: How a Minneapolis project may change the way cops everywhere relate to the public
NBC Los Angeles - August 2015
LAPD, Watts Community See Closer Relationship Easing Tensions, Improving Safety
CBS Evening News - August 2015
Talking face-to-face about race, across the dinner table
Talk Radio News Service - July 2015
AG Lynch: DOJ Is Working Towards Racial Reconciliation
WNDU - July 2015
Police and the Public – Part 3: Lessons, advice from Gary and Kalamazoo
WNDU - July 2015
Police and the Public – Part 2: Gary Police partners with Department of Justice
AL.com - June 2015
Birmingham teen tells it straight to U.S. Attorney General: ‘We’re taught young to hate the police’
WVTM13 - June 2015
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks in Birmingham
AL.com - June 2015
Attorney General Loretta Lynch to bring community policing tour to Birmingham
Real Estate Rama - May 2015
Community Meeting Thursday On National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - May 2015
Pittsburgh meeting part of attempt to boost police-community ties
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - May 2015
What does good policing look like?
Baltimore Sun - May 2015
Why Freddie Gray ran
Dream Corps - April 2015
Bipartisan Summit: Mass Incarceration in America: Assessing the Costs & Human Impacts
Signal Tribune - March 2015
Commentary: Bridging faith and law-enforcement communities
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - March 2015
Pittsburgh named pilot site for federal initiative to build trust with law enforcement
NPR News - March 2015
U.S. Attorney General Holder Denounces Police Shootings In Missouri
Miami Herald - March 2015
Justice Dept. uses grants to encourage good community-police relations
Chicago Tribune - March 2015
Gary one of six cities in police-community pilot program
CBS Pittsburgh - March 2015
Pittsburgh Among 6 Cities Chosen For Project On Curbing Racial Bias
CBS DFW - March 2015
Fort Worth In Trial Program To Help Build Police/Community Trust
Recordnet.com - March 2015
DOJ names Stockton for police-community pilot program
Fort Worth Star-Telegram - March 2015
Fort Worth to be a part of federal initiative to build trust with law enforcement
Minneapolis Star Tribune - March 2015
Minneapolis chosen for program to reduce racially biased policing
PBS News Hour - March 2015
Federal pilot project seeks to stem racial bias in law enforcement
- March 2015
Attorney General Holder Announces the First Six Pilot Sites for the National Initiative
Guardian - March 2015
Eric Holder on US policing – full text of the speech
Here's the Thing with Alec Baldwin - March 2015
Bryan Stevenson Wants “Equal Justice”
The White House - March 2015
What 21st Century Policing Means
The White House - March 2015
Remarks by the President after Meeting with Task Force on 21st Century Policing
Lima Ohio - February 2015
Police urged to directly engage minority communities
The Center on Media, Crime and Justice - February 2015
2015 H.F. Guggenheim Conference on Crime in America
ABC7 - January 2015
Training program focused on police community relations
New Haven Register - January 2015
New Haven police chief named to board of national ‘trust’ intitiative
The Crime Report - January 2015
Citizen Distrust Of Police Can Fuel Violence, David Kennedy Contends
WYNC - January 2015
John Eterno and David Kennedy on Nuanced Policing
St. Louis Public Radio - January 2015
Justice Department Launches Effort To Establish Trust Between Police, Communities
WNYC - January 2015
The Police-Community Divide
The Epoch Times - January 2015
Research Institute Teaches Police Departments How to Police Fairly
The Huffington Post - December 2014
A Blueprint for Local Police Reform to Improve Legitimacy
WNYC - December 2014
The Police-Community Divide
New York Daily News - December 2014
Building back trust to save lives
The White House - December 2014
President Obama Discusses Communities and Law Enforcement Working Together
Georgetown Public Policy Review - November 2014
Interview: Criminal Justice and Ferguson
Tina Brown Media - November 2014
American Justice Summit 2014: Breaking The Cycle of Violence
Urban Institute - October 2014
Stop and Frisk: The Role of Police Strategies and Tactics in Police-Community Relations
The White House, Office of the Press Secretary - September 2014
Remarks by the President at Congressional Black Caucus Awards Dinner
The Brian Lehrer Show - September 2014
“A Moment of Decision” About Policing
St. Louis Public Radio - September 2014
Justice Department Launches Effort To Establish Trust Between Police, Communities
Vox - September 2014
The next frontier in police reform: training cops in empathy
PBS News Hour - September 2014
Justice Department aims to rebuild trust in police with community engagement initiative
Fusion - September 2014
Does race matter in policing?
The New Republic - August 2014
Ferguson’s Schools Are Just as Troubling as Its Police Force
New Haven Register - August 2014
Greater New Haven chiefs: Diversity a key ingredient in effective policing
NPR - August 2014
For People Of Color, Relationships With Police Are Complicated
WNYC - July 2014
Old Cops Teach New Picks
WNYC - May 2014
One Mother, an Anti-Violence Expert and a Recipe to Lower the Body Count
Swarthmore College - May 2014
What if Criminal Justice Had a Hippocratic Oath?
Huffington Post - April 2014
Federal Prosecutor Tries A Radical Tactic In The Drug War: Not Throwing People In Prison
WNYC - April 2014
Can This Relationship Be Saved?
MSNBC's Ronan Farrow Daily - April 2014
Call to Action: Under arrest at school
CNN - March 2014
PTSD from your ZIP code: Urban violence and the brain
Chicago Sun Times - February 2014
Chicago Police ‘custom notifications’: Is it profiling?
WAMC NPR - January 2014
High Point, NC Police Fight Crime Family Intervention Style
Essence Magazine - December 2013
What Does it Take to Change a LIfe?
Indy Week - November 2013
Can police prevent domestic violence simply by telling offenders to stop?
WHYY Public Media - November 2013
Behind the reduction of gang violence in Philadelphia
WHYY Public Media - September 2013
Reclaiming ‘The Corner’
New York Times - September 2013
Frisking Tactic Yields to a Focus on Youth Gangs
New York Daily News - July 2013
Getting beyond stop-and-frisk
DNAinfo Chicago - May 2013
Chicago’s Top Cop Calls U.S. War on Drugs ‘Wholesale Failure’
WNYC - April 2013
Flashpoint: A Tale of Two Police Forces
WGBH - April 2013
David Kennedy: Unorthodox Ways to Stem Crime
NBC Nightly News - February 2013
Flashpoint: Gun violence in New Orleans
The Denver Post - December 2012
Denver police chief’s shake-up gets mixed reviews
The Auston Chronicle - July 2012
Working ‘The Corner’
The Dylan Ratigan Show - April 2012
A Time to Heal: Repairing America’s Relationship with Young Black Men
The Dylan Ratigan Show - February 2012
Ending the Stranglehold of the Prison Industrial Complex on America
White House Champions for Change - December 2011
Lt. Daniel Gannon discusses the Drug Market Intervention
Delaware Online - October 2011
Two views on violence
Providence Journal - June 2011
Police, residents work to lower crime at Providence’s troubled Chad Brown project
ABC News Primetime - November 2010
Taking Back the Streets
Seattle Times - May 2010
East Palo Alto chief rebuilt city’s trust in police
WMC-TV - January 2010
Law enforcement, city leaders look to stamp out open-air drug markets
Newsweek - January 2009
Crime: David Kennedy’s Obsession With Drug Dealers
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