I am very hopeful about community policing and the positive impact it can have not just on public safety, but also on police-community race relations. I am hopeful as long as we are ready to commit to community policing in practice, not just name. That means not relegating "community policing" to only a small group of specially trained officers, while leaving the rest of the organization and culture alone. That type of approach to community policing will only lead to confusion within the department and the community, and could possibly make things worse. Community policing is a philosophy that must be embraced by the entire police department. As such, community policing must guide all police strategies and tactics.
We must also avoid the temptation to relegate community policing to special times, such as monthly meetings, or special programs or tactics, such as foot or bike patrols. These are important, but they are not community policing in and of themselves. Community policing must be practiced at all times, by all officers. Think about it. Each and every day, our police officers have literally thousands of prime opportunities to build trust, rapport, support and respect within the community. These opportunities clearly outnumber the more stressful, fear-inducing situations that police officers also must confront. Our officers need to take advantage of each and every one of those opportunities. Only then can they begin to get in touch with the "good guy" majority that exists in every community.
Will community policing prevent incidents such as the one on the New Jersey Turnpike from ever happening again? No, it won't. But I do believe that community policing can help reduce their likelihood in the future, by increasing communication, building trust and reducing fear. Just as importantly, community policing will help us more readily see these incidents for what they usually are: isolated events, and not necessarily part of a larger pattern. And I think community policing will help us learn from, and move beyond, these incidents when they do occur. Community policing will help us get back to the business at hand: building safe and healthy communities.
I want to close this morning by sharing with you some advice given to me by my first partner as a young Chicago Police officer. It's something I think about often.
He told me that at the moment of birth, every individual starts out as a "perfect 10." But if you're poor, take away three. If you're a person of color, take away another three. If you come from a broken home or dysfunctional family, deduct three more. That leaves that person—that "perfect 10"—with only "one." And that "one" is the individual's dignity and self-respect. My partner's advice to me: never take away that person's "one"—because that's their personal dignity and self-respect. Do what you have to do as a police officer, but never take away that "one," because that "one" may be the only thing the person has—and he will fight to hold on to it.
As we move into this new and uncertain world of greater diversity, lingering fear and the new hope of community policing, let us remember that every life has value. Circumstances and fate are sometimes the only things that separate those of us here today from those people who fighting to hold on to that "one." If each of us can each remember that, then maybe there would be no need for forums like this in the future, because we will have reached that new paradigm—that new partnership—we set out to achieve. Police will be able carry out the critical functions that we perform in our society, including our role as defenders of the Constitution. And all residents, of all colors, will be able to enjoy peaceful and safe communities because of our efforts. Thank you all very much.
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