WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) yesterday co-hosted a bipartisan Law Enforcement Caucus briefing on fostering partnerships between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve with Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). Senators Coons and Blunt launched the bipartisan Law Enforcement Caucus to highlight ways in which the federal government can better assist agencies at the state and local levels, and help circulate proven best practices in administering law programs.
“It is absolutely essential that there be a sustained and positive relationship between the communities that police try to protect and serve, and between police organizations,” Senator Coons said at yesterday’s event. “Community police relations are not simple. There is no one, easy solution. But as you will hear from our impressive panelists today it is important for us to keep at it, to keep learning, to keep examining what have been positive and successful models, and to keep challenging ourselves to do better, to do right by the communities that we all represent.”
Senator Coons has been a staunch advocate in the Senate for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program (JAG) and other federal programs that provide resources and support to law enforcement at the local level. JAG is the leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions, providing Delaware and states across the country with critical resources for law enforcement and crime prevention programs.
Panelists at today’s event included Executive Director Christian Kervick of the Delaware Criminal Justice Council in Wilmington, Delaware. He highlighted Delaware’s community-policing programs, including the West Rehoboth New Beginnings program that partners community centers in minority neighborhoods with Delaware State Troopers and the Wilmington Police Citizens Advisory Program that creates a forum for community leaders to address concerns between members of the community and law enforcement. The other panelists at today’s event were Mayor Sly James of Kansas City, Missouri, and County Prosecutor Jeans Peters Baker from Jackson County, Missouri, who discussed community-policing initiatives taking place in Kansas City.
Senator Coons’ opening remarks are below:
“Thank you for your persistence, your enthusiasm, and your commitment to making this Law Enforcement Caucus a success. It’s something that produces positive, regular, meaningful programing – there are lots of caucuses in the House and Senate, most literally never meet and most of them do relatively little. But this is a caucus, since we formed it together, that's been dedicated, with the support of lots of different organizations from around the country, and with the blessing of lots of talented folks who have come and taken up their time to share their experience, that I think we have actually moved forward the national conversation. So Roy, thank you, you’ve been a wonderful partner, and I’m excited to continue our work this year and next year, and many years into the future. Thank you very much.
“Roy has been a real leader in improving and strengthening community-policing and community police relations in his home state of Missouri. And my home state of Delaware has also known some of the challenges – it is absolutely essential that there be a sustained and positive relationship between the communities that police try to protect and serve and between police organizations. We’ve seen in some very tragic incidents around the country, ways that trust can fray, and can even come apart. Cities like Wilmington and cities in Kansas City and that area have been working hard to address these challenges and problems.
“It’s got to be a collaborative effort, it’s got to be an effort where elected leaders, faith leaders, community leaders, prosecutors, law enforcement are working together, listening to each other in a balanced and thoughtful way. I know that we are going to hear from some of the programs that have been successful in the Kansas City community.
“I’m also very proud of recent efforts by the Violence Reduction Network, which has had a real positive impact in Wilmington, Delaware, including the recent Blue Courage training initiative. We have a number of other municipalities in the state of Delaware -- Dover and others that are also struggling with the same issues. But we are a state that really has one sizable municipality, size for our scale – 75,000 people is a really big city for the state of Delaware.
“Look, community police relations are not simple. There is no one, easy solution. But as you will hear from our impressive panelists today it is important for us to keep at it, to keep learning, to keep examining what have been positive and successful models, and to keep challenging ourselves to do better, to do right by the communities that we all represent.”