A New Beginning In Local Law Enforcement? — The National Initiative on Building Community Trust and Justice comes to Pittsburgh.

In the wake of the recent conflict in Ferguson, Missouri, the White House issued Executive Order 13684, which established the National Initiative on Building Community Trust and Justice (National Initiative).  The National Initiative is designed to improve relationships and increase trust between minority communities and the criminal justice system.

The National Initiative authorizes the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) to satisfy five (5) major components.

1. Select pilot sites to test strategies and provide training on procedural justice, implicit bias, and racial reconciliation (Pittsburgh, PA; Birmingham, AL; Fort Worth, TX; Gary, IN; Minneapolis, MN; and Stockton, CA);
2. Create a central information clearinghouse that will provide technical assistance to the field;
3. .Support new research;
4. Develop materials to help carry that research into practice; and,
5. Promote public discussion of issues around race and policing.

The $4.75 million initiative will seek to assess the police-community relationship in each of the six pilot sites and develop a detailed site-specific plan that will enhance procedural justice, reduce bias and support reconciliation in communities where trust has been eroded.

It is apparent that Pittsburgh has been identified as a candidate for this National Initiative, in part, due to the perception of the relationship between the Pittsburgh Police and the members of the community.

According to Attorney General Eric Holder, the six (6) above referenced pilot cities, by helping to develop programs that serve their own diverse experiences, these cities will stand on the leading edge of our effort to confront pressing issues in communities across the country.

Already seeking to increase diversity within the ranks of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the City of Pittsburgh signed a legal agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union on May 7, 2015 to secure cutting-edge improvements to police hiring methods.

Interesting developments to be sure, particularly when considered in context with ongoing support for the use body cameras, and debate revolving around concern of the “militarization” of local law enforcement agencies and flow of federal funding.  Stay tuned…

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