National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice (National Initiative) representatives have paid visits to three of the six pilot sites thus far – Stockton, CA; Gary, IN; and Fort Worth, TX – and each of these three sites is already experiencing promising progress. Just shy of two months after the National Initiative’s launch, these three pilot sites are already sponsoring training, partaking in productive dialogue and demonstrating the leadership necessary to improve procedural justice, reduce implicit bias and seek racial reconciliation.

In Stockton, CA, the police department is deploying a newly-developed training unit in procedural justice and police legitimacy, which maintains that police must build trust with each community member to elicit the greatest impact in carrying out their job duties. Chief Eric Jones encourages community members to see how the training works firsthand, inviting members of the Citizens Advisory Board and the media to attend a four-hour training session.

Meanwhile, Fort Worth, TX citizens are engaged in productive dialogue surrounding topics addressed by the National Initiative. Paul Schuder, owner of PCS Bail Bonds, an organization that has been an integral part of the community for decades, states “It’s a subject that needs to be addressed and the Department of Justice appears to be hoping to make some strides with this initiative.” Noting that Fort Worth residents have not historically had a positive relationship with police officers in their area, he sees the National Initiative as “an opportunity for both groups to take some steps to come together. Because at the end of the day, police are here to protect and serve and they need residents to help them do their jobs more effectively, and that takes trust.”

Simultaneously, Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson of Gary, IN has taken great strides as her city’s leader to bring the issues of procedural justice, implicit bias and racial reconciliation forward. In the aftermath of the Baltimore, MD riots, Mayor Freeman-Wilson and other mayors across the nation met on April 30 to reissue their recommendations on improving community policing, initially brought forth in January during the U.S. Conference of Mayors 83rd Winter Meeting. The recommendations include building police-community trust, improving police department practices, assuring timely and accurate communications, conducting independent investigations, addressing racial and economic disparities as well as providing national leadership.

To learn more about the National Initiative, visit the site.

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