Presented on Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 10:30A

Police/Community relations decreased during the protests of 2020. There was a greater distrust of police after several high-profile cases gained national attention. But the distrust and trauma started long before these cases. Part of the pathway forward is understanding the trauma that community members are facing, then engaging in meaningful dialog to help move past those issues. This training is rooted in the contact hypothesis - the idea that controlled, interpersonal contact between members of opposing groups can reduce tensions between them. Trauma Informed Policing is both diagnostic and prescriptive. The diagnostic piece is in helping officers recognize community trauma, the prescriptive part is acknowledging the pain and beginning the process of healing the relationship. By better understanding community trauma, officers can employ more effective community policing strategies.