Police departments can build trust and a true partnership through providing greater transparency, and inviting the community to freely share information in a comfortable and convenient way. New means of communication present both a challenge and an opportunity for police departments to engage with their community. Police departments should embrace the trend in alternative communication that many community members use. By allowing community members to text tips and information departments can drive engagement and build relationships with a segment of their community that has not been engaged in the past.

1. 3
by The R Simmons Group
SECRETS OF COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT IN LAW
ENFORCEMENT
SOLVING CRIME WITHYOUR COMMUNITY

2. The best indicator of
community trust is…

3. ...the presence of vibrant information
sharing that enables the community
to become an extension of your police
department.

5. Your community members may see
the mission of reducing the fear of
crime as something intangible, but

6. ....with data-driven solutions you can
inform them of the conditions that
invite crime so they become partners
in the reduction of fear and crime.

7. The Fortune 500 list was started in 1955

8. Innovators displaced 66% of the 1955
list by 1985.
Source: Kaufmann Foundation

10. Secret #1
Give to Get.

11. How does your police department
deliver on its mission?

12. Is the community a willing partner
that provides enough information to
fuel your department?

13. What holds the community back from
freely sharing information, and how
can you change that?

14. Your police department must strive to
gain the community’s trust

15. To gain trust you must be transparent,
and keep the community informed.

16. Transparency, and freely sharing
information builds a relationship
based on trust

17. With trust the relationship is
transformed from a transactional one,
to a true partnership

18. This has been demonstrated by police
departments participating in the
police data initiative.

19. Just as the NYPD adopted a
transparency policy when it
comes to data, your police
department can not just share
random information. It must
listen to the community and
provide valuable information.

20. Transparency is only one side of the
coin; how receptive is your
department to receiving and then
acting upon information in a timely
manner?

21. Is it convenient for all community
members to share information, even
time sensitive information?

22. You should challenge assumptions on
what engagement can be

23. The community must know that you
are open to input at any time

24. Your department can create new ways
to engage the community, while
increasing effectiveness in crime
prevention and response

25. Technology provides new engagement
opportunities that are just as rich as
traditional methods.

26. .. and allows your residents to be
active partners in reducing and
preventing crime in their communities

27. Good intelligence will always be good,
regardless of how it is received!

28. So you must communicate with
community members wherever they
are, and on whatever device they
choose

29. This will empower community
members to provide quality
information, and
increase transparency as well.

30. A ready, willing, transparent, and
receptive police department shows
you are ready, willing, and able to
have a deep conversation with the
community

31. .. and invites community members to
be active partners in reducing and
preventing crime.

32. Secret #2
Embrace the evolution
of information flow

33. For many the preferred method of
communication has changed

34. Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat have
ushered in the era of short, direct, and
nonverbal communication

35. Many people routinely engage in
quick, easy, conversations via mobile
devices

36. Presenting your thoughts in 140
characters is convenient because the
pace of life has increased

37. Texting is the most widely used
smartphone service, with 97% of
Americans texting at least once a day,
while only 41% of U.S. homes now
have land lines

38. Police departments should embrace
this shift in communication
preferences

39. Embracing preferred communication
styles can maximize the volume of
information flow

40. Police departments proved they could
be effective at increasing safety, and
decreasing response times when they
adapted 911 systems to
accommodate cell phones.

41. We must do the same when it comes
to technology and communication
preferences

42. Community engagement should never
be seen as one size fits all

43. An anytime, place, or form
communication strategy is good for
both your department and the
community

44. Secret #3
Know what drives your
community to engage

45. Every police department should know
what drives its community to engage

46. It will help to increase the volume and
quality of information flow

47. The answer lies in the basics- who,
what, when, and how

48. Who is sharing, what are they sharing,
when are they sharing, and how are
they sharing?

49. These answers will help you engage
with the community in a way that
invites more input

50. ....and help your police department
anticipate and prepare for changes in
the community ,and community
members’ communication
preferences

51. This will drive the flow of quality
information, but constant
improvement takes consistent
measurement.

52. People and times will change so
adjustments will be needed

53. Quality information sharing takes
constant monitoring and measuring of
what is coming in, where it is coming
from, and what it tells you

54. You will need a consistent
measurement strategy to know how
both why some community members
choose to engage, and why other
members do not.

55. Collecting and evaluating the data is
important, and needed to make
adjustments that show the
community your police department
does not take them for granted

56. Time to act
on the
3 Secrets

57. To effectively engaging your
community your department must
focus on people, process, and
technology

58. People

59. You police department must show the
community it is valued

60. Gaining trust with transparency and
effective communication ensures the
community will see your department
as a willing partner

61. Process

62. Your department must focus on, and
show it values two-way
communication

63. It should regularly share valuable
information that affects the
community

64. ..and show a willingness to listen to
and act on community information

65. Technology

66. Your department should provide both
traditional and nontraditional touch
points

67. New technology platforms make it
easy for community members to share
information at their place and time of
choice

68. Your police department should
accommodate these communications
preferences

69. Technology choices should also be
able to capture valuable data that can
analyze how and why community
members are engaging

70. Technology shows your department
has a commitment to share and
receive valuable information from all
community members

71. Community engagement is your
department's best tool, and you
should balance and continue to learn
how people, process, and technology
drive engagement

72. To find out how the R Simmons Group
can help you drive community
engagement go to
The R Simmons Group