CR Police Academy Advisory Committee Hosts Community Conversations
In an attempt to improve the lines of communication and foster a sense of mutual understanding between cadets and the community, the College of the Redwoods Basic Law Enforcement Academy Advisory Committee was expanded to include civilian community members starting in early 2020. The civilian community members were added to enhance depth and varied experiences, and provide balanced and transparent guidance for the academy program.
Once each class, the committee hosts “Community Conversations”, where cadets are invited to ask committee members questions about police interactions and garner information about the diverse community they will eventually serve. The first runs of this exercise generated good dialogue and provided valuable insight into perspectives not typically encountered while in the academy program. Topics included trust, dealing with persons in crisis, and officer wellness as a key component of stress management.
At the latest December 14th Community Conversation, along with the above mentioned topics, participants also focused specifically on contact with the LGBTQ+ community, softening the authoritative presence of uniformed officers, and officer stress and its impact on citizen contacts.
“My hope for the future is that we are able to continue this exercise at least once during each academy class, with members of varied groups within our communities attending,” said CR Administration of Justice Director Michael Perkins. “I am also hopeful that we can start building a community outreach program this year that would include an evening lecture series to help educate interested community members in law enforcement function and operations and increase transparency.”
Some of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee have already been implemented into the program, including law enforcement jurisdictional responsibilities in tribal nations, increased grappling techniques, increased communication skills, enhanced understanding of police misconduct, increased understanding of implicit bias, tempo control and de-escalation concepts, officer wellness, and officer stress awareness.
CR President Keith Flamer fully supports the mission of the Advisory Committee, saying “I am profoundly thankful for Director Perkins’ commitment to the reforming our police academy training and for emphasizing the importance of our cadets seeing themselves as part of our communities.”