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San Diego Police-Community Faith Based Initiative Newsletter

Are you interested in issues surrounding policing in your area? Do you want to learn how religious leaders are getting involved to build trust and restore the relationship between the police and communities in San Diego County? Take a look at June and July’s newsletters here

On January 31, the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice (Kroc IPJ) at the University of San Diego launched handbook and website for religious leaders to use to improve relationships and build trust between police and community members. These resources were informed by more than 80 conversations with religious leaders, law enforcement, and community members across San Diego County.

The Kroc IPJ is now building and supporting community cohorts of religious leaders to identify challenges and develop solutions to improve police-community relations in their specific areas. Stay updated about police-community events in your area and learn more about the leaders in your community taking the initiative to restore the relationship with the police in our monthly newsletter.

Building Trust Chapter 2: Community Collaborations

 

Learn more about how Pastor Jesus Sandoval has worked with law enforcement to build trust in his community.

 

Cohort Members in the Community

 

On June 25th, Bishop Cornelius Bowser spoke to San Diego Probation Recruits as part of his involvement in the Community Assistance Support Team (C.A.S.T.) on how to have productive interactions with the black community, specifically those in gangs.

 

In mid-June, Pastor Jesus Sandoval and Bishop Cornelius Bowser attended the Partnership for Well-Being Institute in Anaheim, CA where Pastor  Jesus Sandoval and Jason Rasch from the San Diego County Probation Department taught how they work together to keep kids out of a gang culture that can be generational.

 
 

The team at the Building Trust Partnership co-led an event last month with Congregations Connected. The goal was to help equip clergy with the skills and knowledge to promote justice and accountability, and to proactively engage with police and communities to develop improved relationships and build trust.

 

Building Trust Nationwide

 

The National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College published a white paper on the value of streetwork, also known as community outreach, in violence intervention. Highlighted in the paper is the importance of partnerships with law enforcement, and the need for building trust in order to create effective partnerships.
"A primary obstacle is distrust. Streetwork programs can be wary of working with police, since the appearance of cooperation with the law can threaten streetworkers’ credibility with the population they most intently want to protect and need access to." -p. 8
A common theme surfacing from clergy participating in the Building Trust Partnership has been the reluctance to work with law enforcement because of these very concerns. 
Click here to read the full paper and learn how streetworkers overcome these obstacles.

Southeastern San Diego  

Members of the Building Trust Partnership Southeastern Cohort, including Pastor Troy Owens, Father Tommy (TJ) Jennings, Bishop Cornelius Bowser, and Pastor Jared Moten met at the Kroc School to work out the details of an upcoming workshop series to educate the community. The workshops will be the first steps in empowering the community to promote mutual accountability between themselves and law enforcement. Stay tuned for more information! 

 

Oceanside  

Members of the Building Trust Partnership Oceanside Cohort, including Pastor Sheldon Brown, Reverend Kadri Webb, Pastor Samuel Madsen, Pastor Harold Andersen and Dr. John Hill, are continuing to plan for an upcoming meeting with Chief McCoy of the Oceanside Police Department. They are looking forward to an eventful month during July, with the first game of the Police-Community Basketball League starting tonight! 

 

Jessica Dockstader

M.A. Candidate, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies

Building Trust Partnership, Intern Newsletter: http://www.buildtrustsd.org/newsletter/

Peace & Justice Student Association, Interim Executive Director

(858) 353-3933

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/je...ockstader-253069117/

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