Strengthening Police and Community Partnerships

In August 2019, following a community forum, city officials and the Galveston Police Department (GPD) Chief of Police in Galveston, Texas, agreed to participate in a CRS Strengthening Police and Community Partnerships (SPCP) program in the Gulf Coast city. Racial tensions increased in the Black community in Galveston after police officers, mounted on horseback, arrested a Black man and led him in handcuffs by a rope behind their horses. The public compared the officers’ actions to patrols used for catching men and women who fled slavery. Community members expressed distrust in the police department for its handling of the incident.

Galveston community leaders organized a forum to allow residents to voice concerns and ask questions of a panel consisting of political candidates and local activists. Concerns raised by the 150 participants included the need for mental health resources, police training and procedures for arresting individuals with mental illnesses, and policies for filing complaints against GPD officers. CRS shared information about CRS programs and services at the forum to help reduce tensions and address its source. After the community forum, Galveston city officials agreed to conduct the SPCP program to re-establish trust with the community and partnership with the GPD. An SPCP planning group of five community members prepared for the delivery of the program. CRS facilitated the planning meetings and trained session facilitators.

In November 2019, CRS facilitated the SPCP program for approximately 100 participants, including representatives from the a local university, a local school district, NAACP, and a Hispanic American national civil rights organization. Other participants included GPD officers; youth leaders; clergy; business owners; Black, Latino, and white community members; and residents from the east, midtown, and west end neighborhoods in Galveston. The participants worked in facilitated small groups to identify the strengths of the community and areas of concern. As a full group, the participants prioritized law enforcement’s and the community groups’ primary concerns, including negative perceptions of each other, a lack of police training, and mental health, and identified potential solutions to these issues. During the program, program participants selected representatives from each small group to serve on a council to implement some of the identified solutions.

In January 2020, CRS facilitated the first SPCP council meeting, including Galveston city officials, the police chief, and the newly elected 2-member council. CRS drafted the rules of engagement to guide the SPCP council’s work, which the police chief approved and the council adopted. The council now operates independently, and CRS is available to support the council as needed.