San Luis Obispo Police are extending an olive branch to the residents of SLO holding a series of public educational meetings to “foster mutual respect, better understanding and positive relations between police officers and the public,” according to a news release.
SLOPD will unveil plans for its educational community engagement efforts, with the first of several 2-hour discussions on various topics that concern police-community interactions and relations.
Chief Deanna Cantrell’s “Police Education and Community Engagement” or PEACE Program, begins Thursday, Jan. 26 with the topic, “Policing and the Community,” and is set for 5:30-7:30 p.m. at French Hospital’s Copeland Health Education Pavilion, 1911 Johnson Ave. (on the third floor). Capacity is limited to the first 110 people to sign up. All subsequent meetings will be at the same time as noted, and at French Hospital.
“The discussion looks at how policing and our communities have evolved,” Chief Cantrell said. “Where we are today, and where we are headed.”
Future meetings are set for March 30 — on the use of force; and May 25 with a Q&A format, where residents can ask police anything.
Chief Cantrell also announced that SLOPD will soon start a “Police and Community Together” or PACT Program that will “partner police officers with members of the community to further understanding, and an [Police] Explorer Program to interest youth in law enforcement.”
The meetings are part of a way to address locally what’s been happening across the nation, as civil unrest has taken a rapid rise due to incidents, sometimes deadly, between citizens and the police, which the chief attributes to “miscommunication and misunderstanding.”
“As a result, many police forces are reaching out to their communities in an effort to improve communications through better understanding,” she said.
As SLO has had at least three riots in its past, making an effort at improving understanding and communication would seem a wise step.
“Both members of the public and police officers want to be treated with respect, dignity and fairness,” Cantrell said. “But something as simple as differing communication styles can get in the way of that. Over the next several months, we plan to get to know our community better, and the community will get to know us so we understand where we’re coming from when we interact.”
“Being more transparent entails admitting when you make a mistake, which can be difficult,” Cantrell added. “But greater openness will also allow the department to share all the wonderful things we’re doing, all the training we go through and why we entered this profession — because we love it.”
