Statement on Community Policing
As the Greater St. Cloud Public Safety Foundation looks to the future, our volunteer board of directors has discussed at length strategies to continue our work as the leading advocate for public safety in our community. These discussions have been underscored by the civil unrest in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020 and Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center in April 2021.
Several core tenets emerged from these conversations and have brought clarity to our way forward:
- We believe that the first civil right is the right to live in peace, regardless of race, background, financial status, sexual orientation, religion or political affiliation.
- We believe that understanding and empathy by all parties are essential to achieving harmony in the community.
- We believe that the creation of peace is not the sole responsibility of police, but the civic responsibility of everyone. Respecting our neighbors’ civil rights, personal property, bodily safety and the freedoms protected by our laws and constitution is the way we ensure peace in our community.
As Americans, we are guaranteed the fundamental right to peaceful protest, assembly and demonstration, to vote and to run for political office. These rights are foundational to a free and open democracy, one that serves its people with liberty and justice for all. In the past five years, we have observed the ways in which our system has failed to honor these fundamental rights and to uphold the implicit promise of equality, justice and protection under the law for all citizens.
There is much about America’s past that must be reckoned with in our institutions and as individuals. We must, as a society and as individuals, work to understand, dismantle and prevent the repetition of the myriad inequalities that exist in our country and within our communities, particularly those which center on race and access to opportunity.
At the core of this vital work is personal responsibility and accountability: For our own conscious and unconscious biases, for our role in the status quo, and especially for the safety of our communities.
Public safety must be prioritized as a nonpartisan issue by voters and policy- makers alike to ensure safety and opportunity for all.
As policymakers debate changes to policing nationally and at the state and local levels, we believe that highlighting and promoting successful local programs and policies are paramount to a successful strategy. These issues are complex, but we believe that the long-term changes necessary to improve the public safety of our communities can be achieved by a response that is:
- Thoughtful
- Data-driven
- Culturally responsive
- Open to courageous and uncomfortable conversations
- Undertaken in good faith by all parties
- Understanding of the realities of the communities served and the public servants charged with protecting our citizens
