Durham Police Step Up To Mend Community Relations
Durham police find themselves responding to a call at the Salvation Army on Liberty Street several times per week. The call isn’t for a crime in progress, but rather a program to help heal the rift in relations between residents and officers.
The program’s strategy is to put cops and kids at the same table. James Johnson with the Salvation Army told WRAL News “We are bridging the gap, not only bridging the gap, we are healing the gap between community and police.”
The program caters to children from the ages of 6 through 12, and is part of the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club. Durham police officers interact with neighborhood children three times a week in an old gymnasium, but it’s not all fun and games.
According to WRAL News, Johnson elaborated on the program by saying “We share each other’s stories, but we have to create an environment where we are free to do that, where law enforcement is not always on and children are always back.” They communicate through a game called family that was made up on the spot, a small child talked about himself and his family through play.
The main objective of the program is to curb the fear of police and build trust. In regards to the programs progress, WRAL News reports Johnson saying ‘I’ve seen when police officers first come in, the children respond in apprehension and as they begin to interact and have fun with them, now they come in and respond with welcoming arms. It’s not too late because there is always hope. We dream big, we start small and we scale up.”
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