New Blue Policing Solutions COHORT II: CLASS OF 2023
Transforming Policing From Within
Through innovative solutions that are pressuretested, research-based, and customized to meet community needs, New Blue fellows are addressing the most pressing issues in policing today. Our curriculum is designed to go beyond the standard community engagement programs and truly help officers to develop cutting edge programs that build trust and prioritize community wellbeing and public safety.
THE SOLUTIONS Denver (CO) PD: Juvenile Justice Alternatives Evanston (IL) PD: Mission Rebrand & Culture Change Buy-In Chicago (IL) PD: Justice Alternatives & The Chicago Community-Police Mediation Program Zebulon (NC) PD: Compassionate Policing For Traumatized Children & Families Boston (MA) PD: Law Enforcement Career Path Programming for Girls/Young Women University of WI-Madison PD: Improving Reporting & Response for Hate/Bias Incidents Evanston (IL) PD: Transparency on Police Use-of-Force Madison (WI) PD: Recidivism, Justice Alternatives, And Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Evanston (IL) PD: Community-Oriented Policing Justice Alternatives Initiative Evanston (IL) PD: Strategies to Address Substance Use Disorder as a Public Health Issue Los Angeles (CA) PD: Body Worn Cameras as a Tool for Community Engagement
CPL. NICOLE BATISTE & OFC. TIMASHA HALIBURTON, DENVER (CO) PD:
JUVENILE JUSTICE ALTERNATIVES A growing concern in policing, in addition to the increase in crime rates, is restoring legitimacy and rebuilding trust. To address this crime statistic, Cpl. Batiste and Ofc. Haliburton will examine which age range(s) could benefit most from alternative justice practices, examine why the issue(s) is occurring within this community (juveniles), identify the places these crimes are occurring, and ask the community what they need from the
NATIONAL POLICING INSTITUTE RECOMMENDATION ADDRESSED:
police. By examining the above, they plan to develop solutions to address the concerns to encourage partnership, trust, and crime prevention by targeting children who are most at risk. They are proposing the police department collaborate and potentially create a unit that would consist of a small team of 1-5 uniformed police officers assigned to each district. These officers will not be included in the Community Resource Officer (CRO) role, but will serve as an extension of them. The team of officers will be responsible for sports program coordination; which will include a partnership with existing youth sports programs around the Denver Metro area. In addition, programs centered around the arts (acting, music, and visual arts) will be done in partnership with Denver Public Schools (DPS). When not working on coordinating these events, officers will be out in their respective districts performing foot patrols (increasing visibility) and enforcing laws to help address quality of life concerns. The officers will also assist with telephone reporting for minor crimes, and information gathering regarding community concerns.
Policing in Schools/Justice Alternatives
DEVELOP, IMPLEMENT, AND EVALUATE ALTERNATIVES TO SCHOOL-BASED LAW ENFORCEMENT
CPL. NICOLE BATISTE & OFC. TIMASHA HALIBURTON, DENVER (CO) PD:
JUVENILE JUSTICE ALTERNATIVES NICOLE BATISTE Corporal Batiste is currently a trainer with the Denver Police Department. She has been with the Denver Police Department for 7 years and a Corporal for 3 of those years. TIMASHA HALIBURTON Timasha was born and raised in Kansas City, MO. She is a dedicated professional that thrives when helping others. She feels she is at her best when advocating for those who cannot speak for themselves. She is an introverted leader that works hard to improve herself personally and professionally. The contributions of others are important to her. Although she is reserved, she will open up to others once she feels she can contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way. She enjoys learning and applying what she has learned in dynamic environments. She is detailed oriented, orderly, and dependable.
Policing in Schools/Justice Alternatives
SGT. CHELSEA BROWN, EVANSTON (IL) PD:
MISSION REBRAND & CULTURE CHANGE BUY-IN The Evanston Police Department has undergone a number of changes over the last three years: unstable leadership (four Chiefs in three years), personnel exodus, contracted workforce, crippled morale (COVID, riots, defund EPD protests), schedule changes, lateral transfers from different agencies, officer involved shootings, etc. This has resulted in a disjointed, skeptical, risk-averse workforce that has turned inward with wariness and distrust of the community. While there have been promising improvements over the last nine months, there is still lingering malaise and distrust of the community. Further input from the diverse Evanston community should be obtained to understand how Evanston PD falls short of its mission. Sgt. Brown’s solution will focus on Evanston PD’s outdated Department Mission & Values Statement, which needs to be modernized with community input and put into practice via officer buy-in. With this solution, she aims to: Create a purposeful change in culture at the Evanston Police Department Effect a positive shift in police-community relations, building trust, and addressing the areas of our mission statement that are falling short in practice. These challenges and set-backs should not define the organization. In fact, Sgt. Brown believes these difficulties have presented an opportunity to refocus and rebrand the agency in line with their chief’s vision of community engagement, outreach, and connection. This Department rebranding starts with a mission statement revision and continues with interlacing the Department’s new mission, vision, and core values into actionable policy changes and improved daily interactions between Department members and the public.
Culture of Policing
NATIONAL POLICING INSTITUTE RECOMMENDATIONS ADDRESSED: ASSESS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND INCLUDE COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE PROMOTE A CULTURE OF COMMUNITY SAFETY AND SERVICE CONDUCT RESEARCH ON POLICE CULTURE AND STRATEGIES TO CHANGE CULTURE
SGT. CHELSEA BROWN, EVANSTON (IL) PD:
MISSION REBRAND & CULTURE CHANGE BUY-IN Sergeant Chelsea Brown was born, raised, and attended university in Evanston, Illinois. Though she originally tracked to join the FBI and serve in the Behavioral Sciences Unit, Sgt. Brown ultimately decided that local law enforcement was more appealing and offered increased opportunities to serve and improve her own community. She feels fortunate to have been offered a position with the Evanston Police Department, and has spent the last 18 years dedicated to the community that she calls home. Sgt. Brown feels grateful that her kind-hearted daughter was born at the same hospital on the same day as she was. Her daughter attends public school in Evanston and plays sports in Evanston. Sgt. Brown and her husband, who also serves the Evanston Police Department, blended their families about five years ago, and they love our neighborhood. Sgt. Brown loves the outdoors and spend time off hiking national parks, biking, gardening, attending to her vast plant collection, and frolicking with the family Boston Terrier-ist, Beatrice. Getting older has only fueled her passion to positively impact and care for the world around her.
Culture of Policing
OFC. HANNAH FLINT, SGT. DANIELLE BROWN & OFC. MICHELLE WILLIAMS, CHICAGO (IL)PD:
JUSTICE ALTERNATIVES & THE CHICAGO COMMUNITYPOLICE MEDIATION PROGRAM Justice alternatives present opportunities for communities to understand and respond to crime in innovative ways. These models give people who have been harmed the opportunity to be heard, ask questions, seek restoration, and gain closure. At the same time, individuals responsible for the crime gain an opportunity to apologize and strive to make amends. Police who participate in justice alternative models have opportunities to build connection, understanding, and trust with their communities, opening lines of communication and solving problems together. Internally, Ofc. Flint will build upon the existing Community-Police Mediation Program, which started in October 2022 as a pilot program and has continued budget support through 2024. The Mediation program was created to meet Consent Decree requirements and is being done in other police departments with positive results. The Chicago Inspector General released a report in July 2023 reviewing the pilot program which revealed that out of 122 mediation referrals, only 8 had actually been mediated, mostly due to logistical issues. This presents a major opportunity for New Blue’s Chicago Fellows to to suggest ways that they can get those other 100+ mediations completed and pave the way for more mediations to happen as a way for us to further alternative justice practices that serve both CPD members and non-police members of their community. CONT. NEXT PAGE...
Culture of Policing/Justice Alternatives
NATIONAL POLICING INSTITUTE RECOMMENDATIONS ADDRESSED: PROMOTE A CULTURE OF WELLNESS FOR OFFICERS IMPROVE LEGITIMACY THROUGH PROCEDURAL JUSTICE DEVELOP, IMPLEMENT, AND EVALUATE ALTERNATIVES TO SCHOOL-BASED LAW ENFORCEMENT
SGT. DANIELLE BROWN, OFC. HANNAH FLINT & OFC. MICHELLE WILLIAMS, CHICAGO (IL)PD:
JUSTICE ALTERNATIVES & THE CHICAGO COMMUNITYPOLICE MEDIATION PROGRAM (CONT.) Ofc. Flint will meet with CPD members and community members/relevant stakeholders to learn more about the mediation program and identify ways to increase the amount of mediations happening. She will deliver an Executive Memo with the results of her findings to internal and external stakeholders and ask them to take action to ensure this program not only survives, but thrives, renewing CPD’s commitment to using justice alternative practices when interacting internally with officers, externally with youth, and externally with the community at large. gt. Brown and Ofc. Williams will work to build a justice alternatives model externally in the community, utilizing proven methods to focus on repairing harm to the community. Their main goal is to build a strong foundation with community members and the police, creating space for dialogue, meeting people where they are and creating acceptance from both ends.
Culture of Policing/Justice Alternatives
NATIONAL POLICING INSTITUTE RECOMMENDATIONS ADDRESSED: PROMOTE A CULTURE OF WELLNESS FOR OFFICERS IMPROVE LEGITIMACY THROUGH PROCEDURAL JUSTICE DEVELOP, IMPLEMENT, AND EVALUATE ALTERNATIVES TO SCHOOL-BASED LAW ENFORCEMENT
SGT. DANIELLE BROWN, OFC. HANNAH FLINT & OFC. MICHELLE WILLIAMS, CHICAGO (IL)PD:
JUSTICE ALTERNATIVES & THE CHICAGO COMMUNITYPOLICE MEDIATION PROGRAM HANNAH FLINT Hannah Flint has 4.5 years of law enforcement experience with the Chicago Police Department. She has worked primarily as a Patrol Officer on the midnight shift. Officer. Flint is a mother, partner, and longtime resident of Chicago. She believes deeply in Sir Robert Peel’s Nine Principles of Policing, which guided the founding of modern policing across the world and includes the statement: “The police are the public and the public are the police.” Although that statement was written in 1829, Ofc. Flint believes modern opinion still supports the idea that the police force should mirror the diverse public it serves. Like many of us, Ofc. Flint is very concerned with the current state of law enforcement, and applied to New Blue with the goal of connecting with other officers to discuss the complexities of policing and find ways to improve the profession. DANIELLE BROWN Danielle Brown is a newly promoted Sergeant with the Chicago Police Department, where she has served for more than 10 years. She is one of the youngest black female sergeants to be promoted to this rank, within the 3rd largest police department in the country. She is also a daughter, sister, girlfriend, friend, mentor, community member, long-life learner, and athlete. She sees herself as someone who is kind, loving, driven, and resilient, someone who strives for greatness, and takes advantage of every opportunity given so that she can share resources with others. She sees herself as a dot connector and a peace maker. Sgt. Brown first joined the department as a second generation officer. Her mother, who was a police officer with the Chicago Police Department, and her father, who was a detective with the Chicago Police Department encouraged her to join the department. Four years into working with the department, Sgt. Brown realized her passion and purpose, which was to give back, to help those in the community that she serves and resides in. Her goal was to always pay it forward. She wanted to enhance the positive perception for people who trusted and admired the police, and change the narrative for some who didn’t trust and like the police. Sgt. Brown is deeply invested as both a police officer and a restorative justice practitioner, working with local Chicago youth.
Culture of Policing/Justice Alternatives
SGT. DANIELLE BROWN, OFC. HANNAH FLINT & OFC. MICHELLE WILLIAMS, CHICAGO (IL)PD:
JUSTICE ALTERNATIVES & THE CHICAGO COMMUNITYPOLICE MEDIATION PROGRAM MICHELLE WILLIAMS Michelle Williams is a Chicago Police Officer. She currently serves as a District Coordination Officer in the 15th District where she focuses on building and maintaining relationships with community stakeholders, identifying chronic crime conditions, addressing community-oriented concerns, and establishing problem-oriented solutions. This has allowed her to address the community in a more personal and accessible approach. Michelle is a lifetime resident of the Austin area. She was born and raised in the community she loves and is 100% vested. Michelle attended Proviso West high school and Central State University in Ohio and later returned to Austin to teach special needs children in Austin’s very own McNair elementary. Michelle’s goal has always been to give back as much as she gets from her favorite neighborhood, and she has been able to do just that as a District Coordination officer (DCO) providing the necessary resources, guidance, support and collaboration with many great organizations in the Austin community. Michelle has had the opportunity to work as a mentor/ coach for Chicago westside sports program creating a safe and fun environment with a little help and guidance along the way for the youth on the westside of Chicago. Also being a G.R.E.A.T instructor she educates and trains the youth at schools about gang resistance. Michelle was recently honored in her community as a Great 28 for all the amazing work she does.
Culture of Policing/Justice Alternatives
DET. KERRY BURKE, ZEBULON (NC) PD:
COMPASSIONATE POLICING FOR TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN & FAMILIES From 2013 to 2022, the Town of Zebulon saw an 87% increase in overall population. When comparing the same years, the Zebulon Police Department has a reported 63% increase in cases involving at least one child and a 63% increase in the number of children they are dealing with. They have seen a 106% increase in children committing crimes and a 45% increase in children who are victims or witnesses to a crime or trauma. Police in this area lack the knowledge, training, and practices to address the prevalent public health crisis: children exposed to violence. Compassionate policing is a necessity here. Children depend on empathetic adults to make sure their psychical, emotional, and psychological needs are met. The bar needs to be raised when it comes to how law enforcement is trained and how they and community partners collaborate and respond to the most vulnerable and voiceless members of our community. The overall program Det. Burke plans to implement will be a collaborative effort between law enforcement and clinical specialists to support traumatized children and their families, focusing on providing a comprehensive approach to addressing the needs of these children. The program involves training law enforcement officers to recognize trauma symptoms in children, respond appropriately, and make appropriate referrals to clinical specialists. Follow-ups will be offered to all children, regardless of whether they are a victim, a witness, or the offender of an incident. By combining law enforcement's role in ensuring safety with the clinical specialists' knowledge in trauma treatment, this program aims to improve the overall well-being and physical and emotional resilience of children affected by trauma in the community.
Police Training/Compassionate Policing
NATIONAL POLICING INSTITUTE RECOMMENDATIONS ADDRESSED: PROMOTE A CULTURE OF COMMUNITY SAFETY AND SERVICE DEVELOP AND DELIVER TRAINING THAT SUPPORTS ORGANIZATIONAL AND CULTURAL GOALS INCORPORATING ELEMENTS OF CONTEMPORARY POLICING IN TRAINING
DET. KERRY BURKE, ZEBULON (NC) PD:
COMPASSIONATE POLICING FOR TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN & FAMILIES Kerry Burke was born and raised in Illinois and moved to North Carolina after high school. Kerry is a graduate of Wake Technical Community College and has degrees in both Emergency Medical Science and Criminal Justice. Kerry has served in law enforcement for 5.5 years and has acted as a patrol officer and detective. Kerry has been with the Zebulon Police Department for 9 months and is currently a Detective in the Criminal Investigative Division. Kerry serves on the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) taskforce, is a North Carolina Victim’s Assistance Network (NCVAN) Victim’s Service Practitioner and is a Law Enforcement General Instructor, with plans to become a Specialized Instructor. In addition to the above, Kerry holds and maintains her North Carolina Paramedic Certification and is an American Heart Association Basic Life Support CPR Instructor. In her off time, Kerry enjoys cooking and spending time with her family including her two dogs. Kerry also values and is an advocate for personal well-being, physical and mental fitness, and overall happiness.
Police Training/Compassionate Policing
OFC. JAMILA GALES, BOSTON (MA) PD:
LAW ENFORCEMENT CAREER PATH PROGRAMMING FOR GIRLS/YOUNG WOMEN There is a lack of police based programs that seek to provide long term trust building and career pathways for law enforcement in particular for women and girls. We need to build connections for youth career pathways in law enforcement (shortage of interest). Lack of interest in criminal justice careers translates to low recruitment efforts and encouragement for women and minorities in law enforcement . Ofc. Gales’s capstone will: Evaluate and Provide rigorous data to document the positive preventive impact GROW (Girls
NATIONAL POLICING INSTITUTE RECOMMENDATIONS ADDRESSED: ASSESS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND INCLUDE COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE
Reflecting Our World) mentorship program has had and continues to have for Inner-city girls in Boston, as a means to support the idea of long term police based programming. Using GROW (Girls Reflecting Our World) program as a pilot for long term programming goals
PROMOTE A CULTURE OF WELLNESS FOR OFFICERS
for BPD as a pipeline for the commitment to the 30x30 initiative, recruiting women into policing. Establishing meaningful connections between historically underserved youth groups and community officers can significantly reduce risky behaviors and entry into the criminal justice system, specifically with girls to elevate chances of career in law enforcement (prevention). Engage female officers of all ranks and specialties within policing as mentors in the GROW Women in Policing pillar. Create a network of peer support for female law enforcement recruits, officers and future leaders in the field.
Culture of Policing/Community Policing
PROMOTE A CULTURE OF COMMUNITY SAFETY AND SERVICE
OFC. JAMILA GALES, BOSTON (MA) PD:
LAW ENFORCEMENT CAREER PATH PROGRAMMING FOR GIRLS/YOUNG WOMEN Jamila is a 13-year veteran Boston Police Officer, currently assigned to the Bureau of Community Engagement as a community Initiatives liaison. In 2018, Jamila founded the Girls Reflecting Our World mentorship program dedicated to providing space for inner city girls providing them with skills, resources, empowerment and new life experiences that promotes a growth mindset. Jamila is a lifelong resident of Boston, MA. Specifically, Dorchester. Jamila is a graduate of the John D. O’Bryant High school of mathematics and Science class of 1999. She continued her education at the University of Massachusetts at Boston where she completed her undergraduate academic career graduating as a triple major (Biology, Criminal Justice and Sociology). She also played 4 years of college basketball at UMass where she was a record-breaking player and served as team captain and received numerous awards for excellence in academics and athletics. After completing coursework in Biomedical forensics and later receiving a certificate in forensics, Jamila would go on to receive her Masters of science in Criminal Justice from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Jamila decided she wanted to explore the criminal justice field further, and decided to accept the invitation to the Boston Police Academy class in December 2010. In 2019, Jamila was assigned to the Bureau of Community engagement. In this position, Jamila was able to push the GROW program she created into a full year-round program dedicated to serving the inner- city girls of Boston. The GROW program focuses on Life skill building, Wellness, creatine curated safe space and unique opportunities, academic and career development. This program was created to create a bridge between police, youth and community overall. Jamila, now a mother of two, Boston Police Officer by career and mentor to over 50 youth, thrives off of creating space for innovative thinking, inspiring the future leaders of tomorrow and advocating for those around her. Jamila considers herself a natural born leader who is strengthened in empowering those around her and being an outside the box thinker and problem solver. She believes every problem has a solution and it is our job to navigate our way to solutions.
Culture of Policing/Community Policing
OFC. KATELYN GAMACHE, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON PD:
IMPROVING REPORTING & RESPONSE FOR HATE/BIAS INCIDENTS Ofc. Gamache is a liaison for multiple dorms at her University and she has heard complaints from students who feel UWPD doesn’t take action on reports of racial/hate bias, leading to mistrust in police.
NATIONAL POLICING INSTITUTE RECOMMENDATIONS ADDRESSED:
After some research, Ofc. Gamache learned that there are three main ways to “report” things on campus: through UWPD, UW housing, and the University. All three are supposed to communicate, to tell UWPD if they get reports of criminal activity, but there are gaps in communication and inefficiencies in the system. Ofc. Gamache sees multiple issues here. Clearly the three ways of reporting are not communicating effectively. She also believes UWPD lacks in ways for communities, especially communities who are already distrusting of the police, to report information. It is critical for UWPD to have a hate/bias form that goes directly to the PD to facilitate resolution. Ofc. Gamache’s background in dispatch tells her there is a disparity in the demographics of those who call the police; she wants to make the reporting methods as accessible as possible. Ofc. Gamache’s capstone project will re-educate staff in all three types of “reporting” (UWPD, University, UW Housing) on what information needs to be shared, what constitutes a crime etc.; and will add an online reporting for hate/bias on UWPD’s website and on a UWPD app currently in development, making reporting is as easy as the push of a button, and building community trust.
Transparency in Policing
ASSESS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND INCLUDE COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE PROMOTE A CULTURE OF COMMUNITY SAFETY AND SERVICE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT DATA COLLECTION SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES
OFC. KATELYN GAMACHE, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON PD:
IMPROVING REPORTING & RESPONSE FOR HATE/BIAS INCIDENTS Katelyn Gamache grew up in a small town who left for a big city to go to college. Throughout her college experience she learned about her passion to help people while seeing the barriers that exist in the criminal justice system. Policing was the career made for her and she set off on the adventure of law enforcement and pursued the positive changes she could make in her community while working for the police department owned by the University she attended. Now she is working the shift she loves (3rd shift) and is interacting with students, staff, and community members who are in very similar positions that she was some time ago. Katelyn enjoys and continuously seeks advanced training opportunities in mental health and sensitive crimes. She is a new therapy K9 handler (getting her K9 in June), resident hall liaison, peer mentor, OWI instructor, evidence technician, trainer, former dispatcher, and more. Her goals are to continue to build community relationships and strengthen society through positive interactions and engagement.
Transparency in Policing
DET. BENJAMIN HOLLIMAN, EVANSTON (IL) PD:
TRANSPARENCY ON POLICE USE-OF-FORCE Det. Holliman’s capstone project will address misconceptions about policing practices due to a lack of transparency. During police encounters, particularly use-of-force encounters, citizens and suspects do not have a clear understanding of what happened and why. This is an issue for law enforcement because the lack of transparency around these encounters become the narrative, driving the thoughts and feelings of witnesses/suspects, and even friends and family members, who may have never had police interactions. The root cause is the culture of our profession: police thinking we don’t have to explain ourselves or inform the general public about what we do and why we do it. Det. Holliman believes his solution will be best built by first tackling the root cause, which is educating Evanston PD officers on the importance of articulating their why to citizens and suspects. He also plans to add the issue to Evanston’s current incident cards, adding the option for a “use-of-force review.” Getting buy-in from officers to voluntarily have mutual meetings with suspects and concerned citizens to explain the use-of-force and what events/behaviors led them to utilizing the force they used. These meetings will be facilitated by a neutral third party: potentially a mediator, social worker, or community violence interrupter with close ties to the community, and will occur following closure of the court case. Opening a dialogue, building mutual understanding and trust, and prioritizing transparency in police culture are the overarching goals.
Transparency in Policing
NATIONAL POLICING INSTITUTE RECOMMENDATIONS ADDRESSED: ASSESS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND INCLUDE COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE PROMOTE A CULTURE OF COMMUNITY SAFETY AND SERVICE EVALUATE IMPACT OF TRAINING ON OFFICER BEHAVIOR INCORPORATING ELEMENTS OF CONTEMPORARY POLICING IN TRAINING
DET. BENJAMIN HOLLIMAN, EVANSTON (IL) PD:
TRANSPARENCY ON POLICE USE-OF-FORCE "Having been with the Evanston (IL) Police Department for 12 years, Detective Holliman has had the privilege of working in the Patrol Unit, Community Policing Unit, and Tactical Unit (focusing on violent crimes suppression). Detective Holliman is currently assigned as an investigator in the Gangs and Narcotics Unit where he investigates narcotics and firearm related offenses, in and around the City of Evanston. Detective Holliman is married with two beautiful children, ages 8 and 6. In his off time, Detective Holliman likes to indulge in home improvement projects and spending quality time with his family. "
Transparency in Policing
OFC. KRISTA LUEDTKE, MADISON (WI) PD:
RECIDIVISM, JUSTICE ALTERNATIVES, AND COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY Ofc. Luedtke’s capstone project addresses recidivism and involvement in major crimes, particularly by individuals from marginalized and high risk communities. Ofc. Luedtke believes society fails to acknowledge and provide proper support and resources to
NATIONAL POLICING INSTITUTE RECOMMENDATIONS ADDRESSED:
individuals who come from backgrounds of trauma or demographics that can lead to justice involvement. This leads to feeling devalued and further creates divisiveness, animosity, and mistrust. It also creates frustration and increased workloads for law enforcement and the court system. The National Policing Institute Council on Policing Reforms and Race studies show punitive measures, such as fines and fees, may further contribute to recidivism and alternative measures (such as therapy) may be more effective. The root cause of the problem is a lack of resources, which both creates and accompanies trauma exacerbated by systemic and structural racism. Ofc. Luedtke will work with justice involved individuals who have backgrounds of trauma and difficult upbringings, in order to facilitate access to resources. By improving access, she believes they can begin working toward behavioral change by processing their feelings and situations differently, including the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in intervention with young people. Ofc. Luedtke intend to implement aspects of CBT as an accompaniment to Madison Police Department’s current diversion program.
Community-Based Violence Prevention/Recidivism
IMPROVE COMMUNITY-DRIVEN VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS VIOLENCE PREVENTION STRATEGIES MUST INCLUDE RESOURCES AND SERVICES
OFC. KRISTA LUEDTKE, MADISON (WI) PD:
RECIDIVISM, JUSTICE ALTERNATIVES, AND COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY Krista was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin Madison, majoring in Behavior Science & Law and Spanish, with a Certificate in Criminal Justice. Krista joined the Madison Police Department in 1998 and served over 15 years in Patrol Services, 5 years in the Safety Education Unit, and 2 years to date as part of the Community Outreach and Resource Education (CORE) Team. CORE was created to engage youth from communities of color, and to cultivate trust and transparency via low-key, non-enforcement spaces. Krista thrives upon creating innovative methods to build bridges and improve relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. After being targeted in an officer-involved shooting, Krista has found ways to use the experience of being a gun violence survivor to further connect to individuals who also come from backgrounds of, or exposure to, trauma. Outside of work, Krista enjoys spending time with her teenage son, especially watching him play hockey. Krista has interests in a variety of areas: endurance sports, plants, the outdoors, cooking, and her 100-pound Golden Retriever, named Einstein.
Community-Based Violence Prevention/Recidivism
DET. LOYCE E. SPELLS II, M.J., EVANSTON (IL) PD:
COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING JUSTICE ALTERNATIVES INITIATIVE Det. Spells’s solution is designed to develop a justice alternatives program for C.O.P.P.S (Community Oriented Policing Problem Solving) officers as a crime prevention strategy, intervention tactic, and post-conflict community-building practice. Current procedural and conflict resolution limitations in policing have become conflicting and counter-productive to the mission of local agencies and the overall functionality of law enforcement. Police are called upon only to serve as the ‘enforcer’ and not ‘public servants’ as originally designed, which fosters antagonizing and oppositional encounters between police and the citizens they serve. In this post-George Floyd era, there has been a demand for more community policing initiatives as an effort to change the functionality of police departments throughout the country. Consequently, community policing became the ‘quick fix’ programmatic antidote but not the principle-based practice which changes ‘how’ police departments function overall. Community policing officers (CPO) are tasked with building stronger relationships with neighborhood groups and resolving chronic communal complaints., but are only equipped with the same tools that patrolmen utilize in responding to emergency calls for service. CPO’s can serve as an integral role in community development, fostering stronger relationships between officers and the community if provided more tools to address conflicts and empowering community members. Det. Spells will create a Justice Alternatives Certification Program within the department (similar to the Procedural Justice Certification) which will train and equip officers (starting with 4-6 CPO’s) with practices and resources to utilize in resolving community complaints.
Justice Alternatives/Community Policing
NATIONAL POLICING INSTITUTE RECOMMENDATIONS ADDRESSED: DEVELOP AND DELIVER TRAINING THAT SUPPORTS ORGANIZATIONAL AND CULTURAL GOALS PROMOTE A CULTURE OF COMMUNITY SAFETY AND SERVICE TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION STANDARDS SHOULD SUPPORT A CULTURE OF SAFETY AND SERVICE
DET. LOYCE E. SPELLS II, M.J., EVANSTON (IL) PD:
COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING JUSTICE ALTERNATIVES INITIATIVE Loyce Spells is a veteran law enforcement and public safety professional with cross-functional expertise in violence obviation and crime prevention strategies. Widely recognized as a specialist in community policing, crisis intervention, and youth advocacy. Highly valued as a driven servantleader with experience in collaborating with multi-disciplinary alliances in problem solving initiatives. He is also a third year doctoral student pursuing a Doctorate of Law with a concentration in Public Policy. Lastly and definitely not least, he is an honored husband, humbled father of four strong-willed children, and a hapless owner of a 26 year old (dog years) canine princess named Paisley (pit bull-boxer mixed).
Justice Alternatives/Community Policing
SGT. CHRISTOPHER TORTORELLO, EVANSTON (IL) PD:
STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER AS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE Sergeant Christopher Tortorello attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign on the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship, where he double majored in Political Science and Sociology. After graduation in May of 2006 Sergeant Tortorello applied to the Evanston Police Department (next door to his home town of Skokie) and was sworn in September 27th, 2006. He worked in patrol until 2012 when he participated in the TRAC program that gives Officers experience in various units within the department. During this rotation he was transferred to the Neighborhood Enforcement Team, which focuses on gang, gun, and drug crime. In 2017 he became the department Intel Officer. Working alongside with a civilian crime analyst, Sergeant Tortorello presented a weekly deployment presentation to the command staff of EPD. From there he was selected to join the FBI Safe Streets Task Force for the North Regional area which focused on violent federal crime North of Chicago. In September of 2021 he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and assigned to the Patrol night shift where he is currently serving.
Mental Health/SUD/Compassionate Policing
OFC. DANIEL WALKER, LOS ANGELES (CA) PD:
BODY WORN CAMERAS AS A TOOL FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Ofc. Walker’s capstone project will focus on the problem of trust/perception and recruiting in our most deprived communities. Most importantly, he intends to focus on developing relationships with the African American youth of these communities. By developing a program that caters to African American youth in the most deprived areas of Los Angeles, Ofc. Walker believes LAPD can foster an environment that supports the community, builds their confidence, and provides
NATIONAL POLICING INSTITUTE RECOMMENDATIONS ADDRESSED:
tools they need to be successful in life and in a potential career in law enforcement. Historically, the relationship between local law enforcement and our most deprived communities has been hostile. Ofc. Walker believes there are numerous factors that have created this environment. One problem was having “bad apples” policing the community and not following proper policies and procedures. Their negative contacts with the community have been passed down to generations like classic folk tales that usually end with “This is why we don't trust the police.” Those positive interactions that were happening were never discussed or publicized. This created the perception that good contacts and interactions were never happening. Another reason for why this is happening is due to fear and intimidation of the community. Oftentimes, minorities who are interested in law enforcement as a career are ridiculed and discouraged by the people they want to help the most. Ofc. Walker will build his solution around real interactions that officers have with the community. He will highlight these interactions and create a campaign where these videos are made public to the community. Officers will also have a disposition where they can tag an incident community engagement. From these incidents, Ofc. Walker and his department will create an archive of positive interactions and test how they change the perception of the community.
Transparency in Policing/Community Engagement
USE BODY-WORN CAMERAS AND CONDUCT RESEARCH ON DISPARATE IMPACT OF THEIR USE AND OUTCOMES
OFC. DANIEL WALKER, LOS ANGELES (CA) PD:
BODY WORN CAMERAS AS A TOOL FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Daniel Walker was born and raised in the Compton area of Los Angeles, California. He obtained his B.A. in Psychology with a minor in African American studies from the University of California, Davis and earned his M.A. in Communication from Auburn University in Alabama. While at Auburn he focused his studies on Police-Civilian interactions. Daniel enjoys playing football and is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Daniel is currently a PO2+II, Motorcycle Officer for the Los Angeles Police Department and serves the South Los Angeles community. Daniel also serves as the 2nd Vice President of the Oscar Joel Bryant Foundation (African American Association) for LAPD. Daniel strides to bridge the gap with every interaction he has with the community.
Transparency in Policing/Community Engagement
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