The Process
The police and their role in communities has been a controversial topic since the inception of modern police forces. The continual struggle between individual freedom and public safety is more important than ever in our post 9/11 world.
Through reading dozens of sources the one thing that is clear is that no definitive solution to solving the often tenuous relationship between the public and their public servants. However, through better understanding these issues we may come closer to solving this issue. The trend that one immediately notices by looking through these readings is that the most important part of this relationship is that people feel comfortable around their police and that the police do not isolate themselves from the people they serve. It seems that this issue isn’t as much about stopping crime as it is making people feel safe which is a big part of community policing.
Here at John Jay College one of the first things I remember being struck by was the mission statement of the police science program. It is a simple but powerful and effective statement: to elevate police work to being a profession. As a young person who moved 3,000 miles away from everything I had ever known to pursue criminal justice I was enticed by this idea. 
The idea that the college is trying to elevate America's police forces so that they are full of well educated people and well regarded professionals in their field is a valiant goal. I love many things about John Jay but this goal stuck with me.
Much of America's law enforcement officials today are not well respected or highly regarded by the public. So the question becomes how do we get there? How do we make policing a desirable profession not just for the pension but for the act of service? I would love parents to encourage their children to go into this honorable profession in the same way they might push them into the medical field. The only way we can get there is if the officers are motivated to do the best jobs they can and if they can maintain positive relationships with the public.
One of the first things that can be done to elevate law enforcement is to encourage the right people to join. While many careers in law enforcement pay well and offer enticing pensions that should never be a primary factor in the decision to enter the field. The best officers seem to be there because they love to help people and have a desire to help people and make their communities a better and safer place. Of course financial security is important but this isn't a career to get into for the money. If every officer is truly service oriented and they love their careers then it is safe to assume that their relationships with the public would improve substantially. This is should be our first goal. 
What else can be done? Obviously we need the right people in law enforcement but we also need to build a strong relationship with the public. This is the hard part. How do we change the public's perception of the police? How do we put a greater emphasis on community style policing and public service? These are not easy questions. Community style policing is a law enforcement philosophy that puts a great emphasis on community service and creating a problem solving approach that is tailored to the needs of an individual community. It tries to establish a relationship between the public and the police that analyzes problems and can implement real solutions to issues that are community based. While the results of this method on traditional crime aren't conclusive this can go a long way to improving the communities relationship with the police. Teresa Goines, A juvenile corrections officer turned restaraunt manager employing at risk youth had this to say about the state of corrections "They'd be super excited, ready to start a new life. They'd be put in the exact same environment, though, so they'd reoffend, and they'd come back." Goines says this in reference to the urban culture that encourages reformed youth to reoffend. Her San Francisco based Old Skool Cafe gives jobs and an education to these young adults and keeps them off the streets. This is a prime example of what can be done to help people without just increasing enforcement.
Ultimately, this philosophy attempts to create trust and understanding between police and the public as well as a shared responsibility to resolve the community's troubles. An open minded approach like this allows new programs to be developed to change the lives of thousands. For example, the Interrupters in Chicago try to prevent violence in the city's urban environments by changing the culture and giving hope back to a lost generation. This program has proven to be extremely effective and is revolutionary in many respects. Professor Daniel Webster of the John Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth writes "If you want to reduce gun violence, you have to reach out to those most likely to be involved and gain their trust." This has been proven to be true time and time again and it is a key component of this research. Years ago the violence in our nation's cities would have only been met with increased resistance from police which was proven to not be effective. When police departments and communities are open minded it can foster and environment where new progressive ideas can develop and make a real difference. Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck writes "If you are willing to use resources other than traditional law enforcement – whether interrupters, intervention workers or school-based programs – then you can change a neighborhood." Police play a huge role in these at risk communities but they can't do it alone. That's why groups like Cure Violence and the Interrupters are so important to end street violence and improve the culture of these urban neighborhoods. Groups like Memphis' CPR also play a significant role in changing the relationship between the police and the public.
These new programs and initiatives play a huge role for society and law enforcement in the 21st century. Programs like these might hold the key to saving thousands of lives and improving urban culture throughout America. We need to make sure what happened in Vallejo and Georgia never happen again. We have to be held accountable for the change we want to see in the world.
