Core Principles

Treating Citizens with Dignity and Respect

This principle advocates for showing regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others. It is important to remember that citizens’ views of the police can be negatively shaped by the experiences of friends, family, or in the media, which makes it all the more important to approach community interactions with empathy.

Display Trustworthy Motives

When taking some sort of action, the police should make sure that the action is justified (ie. evidence-based policing) and be forthright as to why the action is being taken. For example, if there has been a rash of burglaries in a neighborhood and the police increase traffic enforcement in the neighborhood, the police should explain to people who are being stopped, the reason for the increased enforcement. In this manner, the police are more likely to have positive engagement with the community members and hopefully a greater level of trust and collaboration.

Making Unbiased Decisions

Implicit bias is unfortunately a reality of the human condition and while studies on the impact of training to control implicit bias remain inconclusive at best, its existence can be mitigated by leveraging data and evidence-based research to guide decisions. This requires recognition of the problem, intentionality in using the best available data and research, and continuous assessment of how these decisions are being perceived by the communities the police serve.

Giving Citizens an Opportunity to Express Their Views

This is an important principle that ties directly into treating citizens with dignity and respect — community members are far more likely to have better interactions with a law enforcement officer if they are given a chance to express themselves without concern of being interrupted or otherwise dismissed.