Building Effective Relationships
Between Law Enforcement & the Community
Chief Brian Childress

• SCLC:
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In the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference is renewing its commitment to bring about the promise of ‘one nation, under God, INDIVISIBLE’ together with the commitment to activate the ‘strength to love’ within the community of humankind.
• NAACP:
– The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.
• Law Enforcement:
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On my honor,
I will never betray my badge 1 , my integrity, my character, or the public trust.
I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions.
I will always uphold the constitution 2 my community 3 and the agency I serve.

• Who are members:
– Your community and your law enforcement agency
• Appropriate cross-section of members
– Knowing your demographics of your community and ensuring diversity
– Developing recruitment plans to attract diversity
• Mutual respect, understanding, and trust:
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It’s ok to disagree
It’s ok to be wrong
• Members see that collaboration is in their best interest:
– Why should they trust you?
• Members develop an ability to compromise:
– Learn to give in and look outside the box

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• Political and social climate are favorable:
– What is the perception and history of our agency?
– Get your local political and community leaders involved
– But set ground rules for them
• Collaborative group is viewed as a leader in the community:
– Stop trying to address community problems alone
– Start your team with the community
– Be OPEN and maintain CONSTANT communications
– Respond to ALL citizens

• Members are invested in the process as well as the outcome:
– What is the mutual goal?
• Clear roles and responsibilities:
– Set rules about what you will and will not do when working with the community
• Flexibility:
– Be willing to change your ideas and programs
– If they don’t work, so what
– Keep working until you find something that will work

– What is the goal?
– Communication and trust in each other
– The vision must be more than crime prevention
– It must be trust in law enforcement and crime prevention and crime solutions

– The Chief/Sheriff MUST be believed, not perceived as honest, caring, and unbiased
– This requires hard work and commitment
National Crime Prevention Council

• Ethics (also moral philosophy) is the branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct.
– Never being dishonest
– Treating all persons the same
– No special treatment
– Not fixing tickets
– “You can tell people no as long as they believe the word no applies to all”

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Body-worn camera system:
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New cameras acquired in July 2014 before Ferguson
Cameras are tamper-proof
Video downloaded to a 84 terabyte server where in-car camera video is also stored
Management software allows officers to review video but not delete it
110 Uniform Officers Issued System
In-Car Camera System:
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100 patrol vehicles fitted
Front dash camera
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Rear seat prisoner wide-angle camera
Activated by emergency equipment, rear door activation, and manual activation
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Pre and Post Event Recording
High-speed wireless downloading at police headquarters
Tamper-proof system
Interview Room Video:
 All interviews are recorded via tamper-proof video
Annual audits of body-worn camera, in-car camera, and interview room videos for issues

• International Accreditation – Commission on
Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) –
482 Standards – Since 1999
• Georgia State Certification – over 100 standards –
Since 1999
• American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors
(ASCLD) – April 2015

• Educating your community on accreditation
• Sharing accreditation reports with the community:
– Use of force analysis
– Vehicle pursuit analysis
– Racial & biased based analysis
– Recruitment plan – getting help from your community team
– Evidence inspections – sharing them with prosecutors and judges
– Internal affairs summaries
– Annual video audit findings
• Comment from NAACP/SCLC:
– “Why did we never know about accreditation?”

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Maintaining Trust Through Community Policing
Citizen Survey Cards – 96% Citizen Satisfaction
Monthly Community Contacts
Community Presentations:
 Bullying
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Burglary Prevention
Identity Theft
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Workplace Violence
Gang Prevention
Citizen’s Police Academy
Neighborhood Watch
Police Advocacy Program
Quarterly Meetings with NAACP/SCLC
Shop with a Cop
 Early Warning Gang Identification Program
 Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)

• Having good policies that establish rules to follow by law enforcement personnel when dealing with news media.
• The policy should call for a designated media contact.
• Send PIOs to training regarding media relations.
• The policy should establish measures to allow media access.
• Set the tone with a sense of friendship and transparency.
• Never say “No comment”

• Television networks
• National and local broadcasting stations
• Radio
• Daily and weekly newspapers
• General and specialized magazines
• Books
• Unofficial directories and guides

– Media and the Valdosta Police Department:
• Television - WCTV-Channel 6;
• Television - WALB-Channel 10;
• Television – WTXL – Channel 27;
• Radio – WAAC;
• Radio/Newspaper – Associated Press (AP);
• Newspaper – Valdosta Daily Times

– Mutual benefits for both:
• Media:
– They get their story;
– They create business (news is business for them).
• Law Enforcement – can use media to:
– Deliver our message;
– Assist with investigations such as wanted persons, missing children, stolen items, tips, etc;
– Establish openness opinion to the public;
– An opportunity for law enforcement to “put their best foot forward”.

• Honesty by both parties (law enforcement and media) to maintain an honest yet professional relationship is paramount;
• Dishonesty by either party is unacceptable and could severely fracture the relationship;
• Conduct by either party not only affects their reputation of the officer/reporter but their organization;
• Publics Right to Know.

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General Order 100-50, Code of Conduct:
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XXIX. COURTESY
Officers shall be courteous to the public. Officers shall be tactful in the performance of their duties, control their tempers, exercise patience and discretion, and shall not engage in argumentative discussion. In the performance of duty, officers shall not use coarse, violent, profane, or insolent language or gestures, and shall not express any prejudice concerning race, religion, politics, national origin, lifestyle, or similar personal characteristics.
General Order 100-74, Public Information:
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VIII. ETHICS
It is the policy of this department to treat members of the media with professionalism and ethical behavior. It is expected that the media will respond in a like manner and follow ethical guidelines established by their industry.
Any member of this department who believes they were treated unethically or have knowledge that a police employee treated a member of the media unethically shall notify a designated Public Information
Officer or their immediate supervisor immediately.

– ARTICLE IV - Truth and Accuracy. Good faith with the reader is the foundation of good journalism. Every effort must be made to assure that the news content is accurate, free from bias and in context, and that all sides are presented fairly.
Editorials, analytical articles and commentary should be held to the same standards of accuracy with respect to facts as news reports. Significant errors of fact, as well as errors of omission, should be corrected promptly and prominently.
– ARTICLE V - Impartiality. To be impartial does not require the press to be unquestioning or to refrain from editorial expression. Sound practice, however, demands a clear distinction for the reader between news reports and opinion.
Articles that contain opinion or personal interpretation should be clearly identified.
– ARTICLE VI - Fair Play. Journalists should respect the rights of people involved in the news, observe the common standards of decency and stand accountable to the public for the fairness and accuracy of their news reports. Persons publicly accused should be given the earliest opportunity to respond. Pledges of confidentiality to news sources must be honored at all costs, and therefore should not be given lightly. Unless there is clear and pressing need to maintain confidences, sources of information should be identified.
– These principles are intended to preserve, protect and strengthen the bond of trust and respect between American journalists and the American people, a bond that is essential to sustain the grant of freedom entrusted to both by the nation's founders.

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PREAMBLE
– Professional electronic journalists should operate as trustees of the public, seek the truth, report it fairly and with integrity and independence, and stand accountable for their actions.
PUBLIC TRUST: Professional electronic journalists should recognize that their first obligation is to the public.
– Professional electronic journalists should:
– * Understand that any commitment other than service to the public undermines trust and credibility.
* Recognize that service in the public interest creates an obligation to reflect the diversity of the community and guard against oversimplification of issues or events.
* Provide a full range of information to enable the public to make enlightened decisions.
* Fight to ensure that the public's business is conducted in public.
TRUTH: Professional electronic journalists should pursue truth aggressively and present the news accurately, in context, and as completely as possible.
– Professional electronic journalists should:
– * Continuously seek the truth.
* Resist distortions that obscure the importance of events.
* Clearly disclose the origin of information and label all material provided by outsiders.
– Professional electronic journalists should not:
– * Report anything known to be false.
* Manipulate images or sounds in any way that is misleading.
* Plagiarize.
* Present images or sounds that are reenacted without informing the public.
FAIRNESS: Professional electronic journalists should present the news fairly and impartially, placing primary value on significance and relevance.
– Professional electronic journalists should:
– * Treat all subjects of news coverage with respect and dignity, showing particular compassion to victims of crime or tragedy.
* Exercise special care when children are involved in a story and give children greater privacy protection than adults.
* Seek to understand the diversity of their community and inform the public without bias or stereotype.
* Present a diversity of expressions, opinions, and ideas in context.
* Present analytical reporting based on professional perspective, not personal bias.
* Respect the right to a fair trial.

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INTEGRITY: Professional electronic journalists should present the news with integrity and decency, avoiding real or perceived conflicts of interest, and respect the dignity and intelligence of the audience as well as the subjects of news.
– Professional electronic journalists should:
– * Identify sources whenever possible. Confidential sources should be used only when it is clearly in the public interest to gather or convey important information or when a person providing information might be harmed. Journalists should keep all commitments to protect a confidential source.
* Clearly label opinion and commentary.
* Guard against extended coverage of events or individuals that fails to significantly advance a story, place the event in context, or add to the public knowledge.
* Refrain from contacting participants in violent situations while the situation is in progress.
* Use technological tools with skill and thoughtfulness, avoiding techniques that skew facts, distort reality, or sensationalize events.
* Use surreptitious newsgathering techniques, including hidden cameras or microphones, only if there is no other way to obtain stories of significant public importance and only if the technique is explained to the audience.
* Disseminate the private transmissions of other news organizations only with permission.
– Professional electronic journalists should not:
– * Pay news sources who have a vested interest in a story.
* Accept gifts, favors, or compensation from those who might seek to influence coverage.
* Engage in activities that may compromise their integrity or independence.

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INDEPENDENCE: Professional electronic journalists should defend the independence of all journalists from those seeking influence or control over news content.
– Professional electronic journalists should:
– * Gather and report news without fear or favor, and vigorously resist undue influence from any outside forces, including advertisers, sources, story subjects, powerful individuals, and special interest groups.
* Resist those who would seek to buy or politically influence news content or who would seek to intimidate those who gather and disseminate the news.
* Determine news content solely through editorial judgment and not as the result of outside influence.
* Resist any self-interest or peer pressure that might erode journalistic duty and service to the public.
* Recognize that sponsorship of the news will not be used in any way to determine, restrict, or manipulate content.
* Refuse to allow the interests of ownership or management to influence news judgment and content inappropriately.
* Defend the rights of the free press for all journalists, recognizing that any professional or government licensing of journalists is a violation of that freedom.
ACCOUNTABILITY: Professional electronic journalists should recognize that they are accountable for their actions to the public, the profession, and themselves.
– Professional electronic journalists should:
– * Actively encourage adherence to these standards by all journalists and their employers.
* Respond to public concerns. Investigate complaints and correct errors promptly and with as much prominence as the original report.
* Explain journalistic processes to the public, especially when practices spark questions or controversy.
* Recognize that professional electronic journalists are duty-bound to conduct themselves ethically.
* Refrain from ordering or encouraging courses of action that would force employees to commit an unethical act.
* Carefully listen to employees who raise ethical objections and create environments in which such objections and discussions are encouraged.
* Seek support for and provide opportunities to train employees in ethical decision-making.
In meeting its responsibility to the profession of electronic journalism, RTNDA has created this code to identify important issues, to serve as a guide for its members, to facilitate self-scrutiny, and to shape future debate.

• Eventually, every peace officer will have an encounter of some nature with a news reporter. If both the officer and the reporter exercise good faith and operate within the boundaries of their respective code of ethics, the encounter can be a positive experience for all;
• Special efforts should be made to be honest, understanding and friendly with reporters and to avoid becoming an unnecessary hindrance to their attempts to gather the news;
• No officer has earned any right or privilege to be abusive or superior to the press or its staffs.

– Most larger agencies have a designated media contact referred to as a Public
Information Officer (PIO);
– The PIO should:
• Be specially trained in media relations and open records law;
• Speak well in front of groups;
• Have a friendly yet professional demeanor;
• Be accessible to media, 24-hours per day, 7 days per week.

• Provides for two designated PIOs – Primary and Alternate Contact;
• Provides a Daily Compusterized Activity
Report to all media;
• Provides access to media at incident scenes;
• Provides media input in policy review/revision of Public Information Policy;
• Provides media with information regarding open records

• A good policy should be established to set rules to follow by law enforcement personnel when dealing with news media;
• The policy should call for a designated media contact;
• The policy should establish measures to take when at incident scenes, to include establishing a no-enter zone and a media assembly area. This area should be at a location close to the scene to allow for photography and video.

Reverend Floyd Rose, President of the Valdosta Chapter of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) & SCLC Investigator Leigh Touchton

“THE END GAME” – MAKING YOUR
COMMUNITY SAFE
2000-2014 Part 1 Crimes
Murder, Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault,
Burglary, Auto Theft, Arson, & Larceny

2000-2014 Crimes
(Part 1 Crimes Lower in 2014 Compared to 2000)

VPD Part 1 Crimes Clearance Rates
(2014)
Offense 2014 Totals VPD Clearance
Rate %
National Average
Clearance Rate %
(2014 Data)
Exceeds/Below
National Average
Homicide
Rape
Robbery (Armed and Unarmed)
7
10
81
100%
60%
35.8%
64.1%
40.6%
29.4%
Exceeds
Exceeds
Exceeds
Aggravated Assault
Burglary
Theft by Taking Motor Vehicle
106
552
124
67.9%
18.5%
40.9%
57.7%
13.1%
14.2%
Exceeds
Exceeds
Exceeds
From 2009-2014, the Valdosta Police Department annual clearance rates for all
Part 1 Crimes have exceeded national average clearance rates

 Improved cooperation:
 With community:
 Neighborhood watch
 Police advocacy board
 Citizen’s police academy
 Truancy program
 School liaison programs – school resource officers, school education presentation (gang identification, bullying program, SADD, etc.
 Quarterly meetings with NAACP/SCLC
 Media advisory warnings
 PD Newsletters
 With other law enforcement agencies:
 Participation in the Southwest Georgia Federal Gang Taskforce operated by the
FBI
 Joint Terrorism Taskforce (JTTF)
 Quarterly information sharing meetings with other law enforcement agencies

– Professionalism
– Fairness
– Transparency