“Building Communities of Trust” initiative in Aurora

The Human Relations Commission (HRC) of Aurora, Colo. lent its services to what it calls an exciting new initiative, the first of its kind in this city.

The “Building Communities of Trust” initiative aims to bring diverse groups of citizens in the community together with police officers, and, according to the HRC, allow them to speak openly to each other, and work on how they can better understand and trust each other when officers are in the field.

The Department of Justice states that the initiative’s purpose is to build “trust and transparency to help keep communities safe.”

Commissioner Deondrea Harris focused specifically on the homeless population of Aurora, and their relationship with the authorities. According to Harris, many people in this particular population feel unfairly treated by the police, and that they do not have a voice in the community because of their status.

“Hopefully we'll have some ideas from both sides that the police and homeless people have decided on,” said Harris.

Harris stressed that each group needed to talk about the reality of how they feel they are being treated, or mistreated, in order to resolve issues and start to build trust. She thinks that these meetings will be effective in the community.

This initiative was created by The Office of the Program Manager and Information Sharing Environment, in partnership with the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, and the Department of Homeland Security.

“The success of the (initiative) largely depends on the ability to earn and maintain the public’s trust,” according to the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI) website.

The NSI website also says this initiative, if successful, will help empower marginalized citizens like Aurora’s homeless population, to feel less alienated when it comes to police interactions.

“Residents will feel that they have a stake in programs that the police may implement, that the police are transparent in their motivations, and that they are assisting the police in improving public safety,” said Edwin J. Delattre, author of “Character and Cops: Ethics in Policing,” who was also referenced in “Building Trust Between the Police and the Citizens They Serve: An Internal Affairs Promising Practices Guide for Local Law Enforcement.”

“If citizen involvement is used only in response to misconduct or corruption, citizens are likely to feel isolated and wary of law enforcement. If they feel included through collaboration, though, they will gain a broader appreciation of police work and gain insight into, and consequently trust of, law enforcement,” said Delattre.

Harris, who described the current relationship between the authorities and Aurora’s homeless population as “tense,” says she is excited and hopeful for what this initiative could bring to the community.