By Omar Abdel-Baqui
Detroit Free Press
DETROIT — In an effort to improve its relationship with Detroit residents, the Detroit Police Department is launching a new unit: the Office of Internal and External Relations.
The office will expand on community policing initiatives by individual precincts, such as hosting regular forums between citizens and police, and make them department-wide.
The unit will work with other offices within the department to contact citizens who have had negative interactions with police and will also advocate for less aggressive approaches to policing. In addition, it will expand the existing internal resources for police officer support.
“We’re always committed to employing innovative strategies to strengthen our relationships with our community and business leaders and finding ways to continue to support our officers,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig said at a news conference announcing the the new office Wednesday.
Cmdr. Eric Ewing of the 5th Precinct helped come up with the idea during discussions with Craig years ago on how to increase transparency, he said.
[READ: It’s time for police leaders to get serious about community communication]
Capt. Tonya Leonard-Gilbert will head the office.
Ewing said that when citizens file complaints against officers, no matter how the Office of Chief Investigator adjudicates the complaint, “what does not have a chance to happen is the repairing of the harm.” That is what he hopes the Office of Internal and External Relations can achieve.
When DPD has held forums at precincts, Ewing said he’s found them to be successful in increasing understanding between police and Detroit residents.
During the forums, residents describe their worst encounter with law enforcement, and police then describe their worst encounters while on the field. The scenario and role reversal exercises are some of the most powerful moments during the forums, Ewing said.
“That’s when the ‘aha moments’ come out on both sides,” Ewing said.
Citizens often don’t realize how anxiety-inducing something as routine as a traffic stop can be, Ewing, a 35-year department veteran, said. He’s seen people come to that realization during the role reversal exercises.
“Citizens say, ‘You guys actually go through this all the time?’” Ewing said. “Yes, we do. Take that one traffic stop, multiple it by however many traffic stops you do a day and multiply it by the years you’re on the job.”
As part of community policing, departments should distance themselves from the archaic approach of piling tickets on residents or cracking down on specific street corners, Ewing said. Rather, police should try having conversations with people and offer resources.
Henry McClendon Jr. — a lifelong Detroiter, a pastor at Berean Chapel and the director of community engagement at the International Institute for Restorative Practices — said people are thought to be happier, more cooperative and more likely to make a positive change in their behavior when those in positions of authority are doing things with them rather than to them or for them.
“The police have authority, but the only authority they have is that which the community gives them,” McClendon said. “If we only have high expectations for the police and we don’t provide our support as a community, because we are an authority, then we’re being punitive to the police. The flip side is if the police have this high expectation or are over-burdensome to the community and are not being supportive, they’re being abusive to the community.”
Police community forums, McClendon said, “create the opportunity for us to have the conversation that leads to a restorative environment.”
The forums will gradually expand to all DPD precincts. Residents interested in participating should contact their local precinct, as DPD is limiting the number of participants due to social distancing guidelines.
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