Forging community-police partnerships
Archived article from Oct 5, 2001
By Irene O'Brien
This past spring, acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco signed an executive order establishing the Police Institute on the Newark campus. The mission of the institute, which is housed at the School of Criminal Justice, is to improve the quality of policing and promote safe neighborhoods in New Jersey.
The institute will conduct research and policy analysis, and initiate discussions with criminal-justice policy-makers, practitioners and the communities they serve, said criminal justice Professor George Kelling, who chairs the effort. "Using a problem-solving approach, the institute will work to ensure that police and criminal-justice agencies protect both individual rights and community interests," he stated.
The institute's inaugural event, "Community Expectations and Law Enforcement Responsibility," a two-day summit in September, addressed racial profiling and other issues in an effort to begin forging a permanent partnership among government, law enforcement and the public. Participants included community and civic leaders, criminal justice officials, attorneys and academics.
According to Leslie Kennedy, dean of the criminal justice school, the summit was successful in bringing these groups together. But, he noted, the summit was just the first step in developing practical strategies for state and local police. "The institute will tap into the expertise of our faculty, taking a multifaceted approach to dealing with the complexities of policing in an increasingly diverse society," he said.
For more information, visit the Web at www.policeinstitute.org..
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