Community policing works when there’s a Black community buy-in

A lingering tension between law enforcement and the Black community, rooted in history, persists in undermining public safety. But a strong community policing initiative can restore that trust, leading ultimately to improved security and brighter futures for Black communities. 

Last month, we honored the civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others. In his time, peaceful demonstrators were met with brutal police force, including nightsticks, dogs and fire hoses. This was all broadcast to a horrified nation. And as police brutality became commonplace in Black communities, seeds of fear and distrust grew among the younger generations. 

This distrust led to the 1966 founding of the Marxist-Leninist Black Panther Party, which adopted a so-called “policing the police” initiative, asserting itself as protector of Black communities against police brutality. The experience with the Black Panthers illustrates just how dangerous the distrust of law enforcement can become when police departments do not take proper action with the vital work of building bridges with community organizations and forging relationships with leaders who foster true change within their communities. 

For too long, law enforcement has relied on proactive policing tactics which, rather than emphasize community engagement, have relied on giving police officers broad discretion to stop and search individuals that they, for whatever reason, consider suspicious.

Each additional police officer engaged in proactive policing results in seven to 22 arrests for “quality of life” offenses such as breaking widows, panhandling, drinking in public and other minor offenses. The theory is that such a zero-tolerance approach can prevent more serious crimes from taking place.

Such tactics have failed to reduce crime, but they have encouraged illegal policing tactics that have eroded, if not broken, community trust. 

Establishing trust and dispelling long-entrenched suspicion and cynicism is an uphill battle. But trust can start with community policing, a law enforcement strategy in which officers build rapport by building strong connections with the people they are tasked with serving. That means getting to know the leaders, the organizations and the unique culture that make up the respective communities. 

 Community policing, as highlighted in my organization’s recent report, “Crime and Safety Transformed,” will help restore trust in law enforcement. It’s an approach in which community leaders, private businesses, media outlets and nonprofit organizations are all working together with the police to increase public safety and the overall quality of life. Not only does empowering everyone to be heard foster trust, but it builds a greater sense of community pride. 

Building trust in diverse communities gives officers a leg up in doing their duty more easily and more responsibly. In fact, community policing has a force multiplier effect; it works by encouraging everyday citizens to work in partnership with police. That kind of community buy-in goes a long way toward supplementing home and workplace security efforts. 

Although African Americans make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, more than half of all murder victims have been Black every year since 2011. Yet we know that by taking a larger role, Black communities have played a successful part recently in driving crime down across the nation. This should come as no surprise; efforts “for us by us” contributed to a 52 percent drop in violent crime in Camden, N.J. from 2012 to 2020 after community policing policies were instituted. 

As we celebrate Black culture, which is rich and unique based on the struggles endured by our ancestors for generations, let us look to improving lives in the here and now by encouraging community policing where we live. 

Daela Fraser is the Georgia state grassroots director of Our America.