Police and Community Relations - A Youth Perspective
The core of many of the problems that exist in our society flow out of a combination of any one or more of these issues…
Not immediately seeing people affected by the issue, thus leading to a sense of the struggle being more sporadic and infrequent instead of systemic
Not having ample and ongoing opportunities to hear from, learn from and work with people on different sides of issues, people coming together to talk about concerns from different angles and perspectives
This tends to foster a deepening suspicion, mistrust and even anger, which in turn further isolates and segregates our communities.
There are no quick-fixes to these struggles, but there are some ways that we can start to chip away at them, and one is the community precinct meetings that happen in New York precincts all around the city.
Recently, one of our Trellis Crew attended her local precinct meeting and shared her experience
“At the 76th precinct community meeting, the purpose was for the community and police officers to have a conversation about what is going on in the community. Most of the people were from Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill and have been going to NYPD community meetings before.
I noticed that this meeting was primarily only focused on Carroll Gardens because that’s where the precinct is on Union and Henry. Many residents had problems with the safety of the community, especially with kids going to school and getting out. The main concern was everyone remaining safe. I noticed that nobody from Gowanus or Red Hook were at the meeting, which seemed odd to me because the precinct serves these neighborhoods as well.
I tend to believe that these communities need the most help with the relationship with the police officers because of the lack of communication. While at the meeting I was wondering if maybe putting up poster within each neighborhood would help with more residents of Red Hook and Gowanus. They also mentioned that they have neighborhood policing to help the police and community’s trust and engagement with the community.
I never knew what this was until today, which made me realize why there was so many police always by my house. Yet, on the other side I also believe there’s a double intention because I don’t always see the same police officers, and because of the little to no trust in the community. When I see the police, I notice that people in Gowanus tend not to go in their direction or avoid them at all cost. Despite this, I felt like having a direct conversation with police officers gave me a sense of mind that they are apart of the community too and work with residents to improve the community. ”
A space and a willingness to hear and see, and be heard and seen, particularly for youth and youth of color in conversations around policing in the community is a key component of breaking down some of the barriers and walls that exist.
This summer, through our collaborative public art project, Community Heroes, we partnered to put on Red Hook Reporters, a community-based reporting project connecting youth to local leaders and institutions, and providing the tools and space needed for teens to tell the stories of their own neighborhood. One of the stories was about the police and the youth in the Red Hook community. You can see the work HERE
You can find out more about where and when your community precinct meeting happens HERE
Diverse communities that can hear, listen to and learn from each other are better equipped to grow together.