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Police
Community Relations
How To Do It The Right Way
Throughout
the diverse communities of New York, organizational meetings are utilized in an
effort to bridge the communication gap between the NYPD and the citizens.
In addition to the NYPD controlled Community Council, there are many block
associations, civic and religious groups that rely on the NYPD's input and
information to coordinate their efforts. Too often, these groups are not
fully aware of the potential power they possess. Too often many of these
groups unknowingly allow themselves to be used as a photo opportunity and
marketing tool for the NYPD.
Through our extensive community outreach, "100 Blacks In Law Enforcement
Who Care" has had the privilege to address many of these groups in an
effort to educate them on a wide range of topics including 'What to do when
stopped by the Police' and 'Child Safety'. At some point at many of these
meetings, there is a report by the local precinct Commander or his staff,
followed by a question and answer period. We have observed a disturbing
pattern of apathy by the Police representatives. Often times, the Police
representative has neither the knowledge or power to directly address many of
the issues. Far too often the Police representative begins his
presentation with "The Commanding Officer is sorry that he couldn't be here
but…" Other notable statements are "We'll look into
that", "Manpower doesn't allow us to properly address
that", "If you have any problems, contact Community Affairs
officer…" , "Another unit handles those type of
complaints" etc. These statements are more often than not 'cop-outs'
used as a way to insure a successful escape from a dissatisfied, underserved
throng without committing to solving the problem or fully addressing the issue.
In some communities, the use of these wholesale dismissive statements would not
be acceptable because those communities and organizations have a more
comprehensive knowledge of the role of the NYPD to effect positive change in
their community.
It is important to know who controls what in your precinct area. It should
be understood that the head of a precinct is the precinct Commanding Officer.
The Precinct Commander could be a Captain, Deputy Inspector or Inspector.
These are executive ranks in the NYPD and their position as Commander wields a
tremendous amount of power and influence. The Precinct Commander fully
coordinates all the operations and initiatives in his 'house'. He or she
has the authority to shift and utilize manpower in that precinct as he or she
sees fit. He or she also can request assistance from any of the units and
bureaus within the NYPD. If there are narcotics complaints, he or she can
have the Narcotics Division conduct operations in addition to those being
conducted by his precinct level Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit. If
there is a stolen car pattern, he or she can coordinate an operation with the
Auto Crime Division. Prostitution can be addressed through coordination
with the Public Morals Division. Gang activity information and
intelligence can be accessed through coordination with the Gang Division.
These are just a small few of the many resources available to the Precinct
Commander. The Precinct Commander's authority ranges from street closures
to DWI checkpoints to noise complaints to robbery and burglary prevention
operations to double parking conditions. The only time that a Precinct
Commander seems to downplay his authority and power is when the community
attempts to hold him accountable at the community meeting. The Precinct
Commander is the 'boss' of the precinct and as such is directly accountable to
the residents of the precinct area on issues of policing.
In hopes of furthering 'Community Empowerment', the following practical
guidelines will make your organization/group more Police savvy and respected.
1. Only accept the Precinct Commander's presentation at your meeting unless
emergency prevents his appearance. Do not accept 'scheduling conflict' as
an excuse because your meeting would have been on the schedule and approved well
in advance. If you routinely accept excuses from appearances, you will
rarely see him/her. His/her presence is a preliminary sign of respect.
He/she has the primary authority to coordinate and/or discontinue strategies.
His/her underlings do not command the same level of authority and will too often
act as go betweens who mis-communicate information to the Commanding Officer to
give a more favorable impression of the meeting topics.
2. Have the precinct Commanding Officer speak in terms of actual impact as
opposed to statistics. Never accept statistics in the form of percentages
and only allow hard number statistics if used to address an initiative or
strategy. Mark Twain wisely suggested that statistics should be used
"as a drunk uses the lamppost…for support, not for illumination".
If the extent of the Commanding Officer's presentation is a statistical
breakdown, you are being spoken at and not with.
3. Prioritize all requests for police service and document them in the form of a
letter to the Commanding Officer. Send copies to the Borough Chief, the Police
Commissioner and the Mayor. In an un-established police-community relationship
it is important to remember that undocumented requests are forgotten requests.
"I'll check into that" is a meaningless pronouncement. If a
police commander establishes, through actual and consistent deeds, a willingness
to immediately address concerns, a less structured communication strategy may be
used. REMEMBER, it is about business, nothing personal. A qualified
police professional will not be threatened by a letter outlining concerns.
After all, he is a public servant.
4. Establish a follow-up timeline so that the Commanding Officer's progress with
individual issues can be charted. Be reasonable with the timeline however,
demand timely address. ALWAYS follow-up your requests. If you
fail to follow-up, your issue will be disregarded.
5. Designate the person or persons who will serve as liaisons and discourage
others from co-opting the established process by 'cutting side deals'. A
savvy commander will befriend and even laud certain members whom he/she
considers 'less threatening' and attempt to sway the group through those
members. Often these members will be more concerned with 'offending' than
with being effective. Simply put, a legitimate demand for quality service
shouldn't make you squeamish. The Police Department works for you; the
citizens, not vice versa. Be sure to maintain the proper employer-employee
relationship. Those who work against the interests of your group should be
encouraged to find a group who they have philosophical harmony with.
6. Recognize the exemplary deeds of individual officers. Document your
satisfaction in the same way you document your complaints and concerns.
Many times the most community-friendly, effective officer will be ostracized and
criticized by a police culture that is structured for community disconnect.
The reality is that the man on the street has the most direct impact and HE or
SHE should be shown appreciation if so merited.
7. Encourage elected officials to become involved in group meetings.
INVOLVED SHOULD NOT TRANSLATE INTO DOMINATION. The dynamic of a
community-police relationship should be and is distinctly different than the
dynamic of an elected official-police relationship. Your elected official
has resources and contacts that could perhaps expedite the resolution of your
concerns. DO NOT ALLOW ELECTED OFFICIALS TO SET A GROUP STRATEGY UNLESS IT
IS THEIR ESTABLISHED GROUP.
8. Familiarize yourself with the precinct command structure and the
responsibilities of the many supervisors. Learn the responsibilities of
the Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, Special Operations Coordinator,
Platoon Commander, etc. Establish relationships with everyone and know
their names. Become familiar with the many units their responsibilities.
An educated consumer gets the best quality of service. What you don't
know, won't work for you.
9. Establish relationships with other like-minded groups. Compare
strategies and concerns. Often times, the concerns are very similar, only
separated by geography. Close the geographical gap and unite, once an
individual group identity is established. PUT THE EGOS ASIDE.
10. Work towards a paradigm shift. Demand the service that has been
promised to you. Accept no excuse for being underserved or neglected.
Be not afraid to address and make demands of those in 'power'. Be
relentless and persistent yet courteous and flexible. Don't just have a
meeting…demand an accounting. Don't just write a letter…communicate a
concern or a compliment. Until a comprehensive understanding and plan is
established, a positive police-community relationship is merely a philosophical,
theoretical discussion.
This article was co-written by Detective Marq Claxton of the community outreach
arm of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care.
Eric Adams
Co-Founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care
10/25/04
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