Alexandria, VA. - December 15, 2020 - Today, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) released a report, Future of Public Safety, detailing nine points of consensus among law enforcement, activists, union leaders, and elected officials to realize a more racially-just system of public safety and policing in America.
In the report, John Jay and NOBLE share recommendations to
help chart a new course for our country where communities of color feel
equally protected, respected, and cared for. The report, centered on
fairness, is designed to serve as a framework for action and support for
local governments, community members, law enforcement leaders,
businesses, philanthropic institutions, activists as they work
collaboratively to create a new age of public safety.
Beginning in September, NOBLE and John Jay brought together a
diverse range of speakers for a series of six public conversations to
identify points of consensus around what the future of public safety
ought to look like.
- Everyone wants the same thing: to be safe.
- Healthy communities are safer communities. Public resources must be invested in the areas that are most likely to create healthy communities.
- We must decriminalize mental health, homelessness, and substance abuse and invest in building an effective network of social services in communities.
- There must be a cultural shift in policing away from thinking of officers as "warriors" and instead as guardians who are there to protect the communities they serve.
"Our collective resolve is the most critical resource to
effect systemic change within the law enforcement community. At a time
when our nation pleads for police reform, it is important for police
executives to acknowledge issues of racial inequalities that have gone
unfettered far too long," said Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis, Immediate
Past President of NOBLE. "This report will serve as an effective
launching pad to rethink, re-tool, and chart a new path towards the
creation of more racially just communities, systems and outcomes - even
beyond the law enforcement arena."
"NOBLE is eager and enthused about our partnership with the
John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the opportunity to lend our
voice as it relates to defining the role of law enforcement in creating
safer communities nationwide," said Lynda R. Williams, National
President of NOBLE. "This
collaboration has brought a range of perspectives to the table and
allowed us to find consensus on how we can strategically guide and
encourage police agencies and communities on best practices. This is our
plan of action to reimagine, rethink, and reform community police
relations. Our pursuit of fair judicial outcomes for all citizens is a
shared goal for law enforcement and the communities they serve. Now is
the time to do the work needed to protect neighborhoods and move forward
with the systemic change all Americans desperately need and deserve."
"Thank you to John Jay College of Criminal Justice and NOBLE
for facilitating meaningful, candid conversations for leaders, allowing
us to peel back the layers of our challenges and work together to build
trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve," said
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
The release of the report
is a critical step forward in building a safer, more racially- just
system for policing and public safety in the United States. Over the
next several months, John Jay and NOBLE will actively engage
stakeholders in local communities across the country to help apply the
report's guiding principles in their efforts to transform public safety.
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About the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
Since 1976, The National Organization of Black Law
Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) has served as the conscience of law
enforcement by being committed to justice by action. NOBLE represents
over 3,000 members internationally, who are primarily African American
chief executive officers of law enforcement agencies at federal, state,
county and municipal levels, other law enforcement administrators, and
criminal justice practitioners. For more information, visit www.NOBLENational.org.
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