Law Enforcement: How to Intervene

• 4 signs your LE partner is in crisis (and how to help)

A focused question can confront a person with an integrity issue that may be interfering with his wellbeing, his career, and his (and perhaps your) safety.

• Options for community engagement and dialogue

Co-creation of programs, policies, and strategies through community-police engagement opportunities can authentically and organically build understanding, trust, confidence, respect, and diversity of thought.

• Communicating to build trust

High profile policing incidents require thoughtful communication with the public and media. By having a communications plan, sharing information appropriately, and engaging multiple voices, police agencies can address concerns and enhance community trust.

• Community member feedback as an effective tool for building and maintaining trust

Building and maintaining trust and legitimacy with the communities they serve is paramount for police agencies. Community members should be recognized as essential partners in maintaining public safety and offered meaningful and accessible opportunities to provide feedback to police agencies.

• Ways to engage youth and police in conversation

In many communities, and particularly in communities of color, communications between youth and police officers tend to occur when a negative event is taking place in the community. These experiences can set the tone for a young person’s relationship with police throughout his or her life.

• Active bystandership can be taught and learned

Across the country, decision makers at all levels—departmental, local, state, and federal—are taking steps to include “duty to intervene” language in their policies, ordinances, and legislation. However, the law has imposed such a duty upon law enforcement officers for years.

• Basic communication techniques
• Law enforcement best practices: lessons learned from the field

This guide was developed by experts and practitioners from across the country to provide practical advice to three primary audiences: (1) new law enforcement executives and law enforcement leaders, who need to understand key challenges facing their communities and agencies; (2) seasoned law enforcement executives and law enforcement leaders in communities where these issues have come to the forefront; and (3) personnel who work for chiefs or sheriffs and have been asked to work on the agency’s approach to one or more of these issues.

• Crisis intervention definition
• Critical information on interventions
• Examples of community-police engagement
• Learning to read the danger signs

Studying domestic violence for more than 25 years, Jacquelyn Campbell, Ph.D., of the John Hopkins University School of Nursing, found that in 50 percent of domestic violence-related homicides, officers had previously responded to a call where a homicide occurred.

• Importance of police-community relationships and resources for further reading

Strong relationships of mutual trust between police agencies and the communities they serve are critical to maintaining public safety and effective policing.

• Positive policing

Today’s headlines call for better relationships between law enforcement agencies and their respective communities. For decades, police strategies have vacillated wildly, all with the stated goal of meeting the needs of the people they serve. Have they instead met the needs of external political forces?

• Principles of crisis intervention
• Starting with what works: Using evidence-based strategies

The Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing is an important guiding document for modern law enforcement leaders.