Beyond the Conversation
Community Engagement
Police and public officials hold countless meetings in an effort to engage their communities. They do this because such engagement is believed to help build legitimacy and trust in the work of the police. But after all this work, both agencies and communities often find themselves far apart.
We visited cities across the country to learn about different visions for police-community engagement. We spoke with residents, police officials, community organizers, inspectors general, police commission members and officers to learn about what works and what does not.
is hard work.
We learned a great deal, but the one thing we heard over and over is that community members want a real say in how they are policed. To build legitimacy and trust, community members and all public officials (especially the police) must co-produce public safety.
This website shares what we learned, and offers tools and strategies for crafting more meaningful engagement.