Community collaboration and accountability, a framework for justice

Update: At the time of this posting, police officers were shot and killed in Baton Rouge, La. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families.

Dallas, along with communities around the country, must ask themselves whether they want to nourish the seeds of fear-based division after the tragic shootings of five police officers and two black men in Baton Rouge, La. and Falcon Heights, Minn., along with the tragic shootings of others across the country.

Or, driven by hope, we can all begin working on sustainable change. We believe at Dallas Leadership Foundation (DLF) that breakthrough change occurs in a city when a diverse group of leaders speaks with one voice. Unity carries power. 

Community meeting in East Dallas.

In more than 20 years of ministry, we’ve learned at DLF that relationships between law enforcement and minority neighborhoods require a nuanced understanding of what’s happening on the ground. Community leaders can proactively problem-solve with officers to reduce crime. They're invaluable resources to help law enforcement compassionately and effectively ensure public safety.

Where DLF has partnered with community leaders, together we have maintained strong relationships with many police officers and code enforcement officials. Good will has sprung from mutual respect and collaboration. 

In any community,  mutual respect and collaboration break down when officers abuse their privilege of authority. If that happens, officers must face prosecution because they have violated the public trust. 

Accountability doesn’t always happen, however. A New York Times article recounts 11 police-involved black deaths since 2014 that were caught on video. To date, “officers have been indicted in five cases. In four cases, grand juries declined to bring charges,” the story says. 

“The Science of Justice: Race, Arrests, and Police Use of Force”  report was released by the Center for Policing Equity the same week as the shootings in Dallas, Louisiana and Minnesota. The national report examined the use of force by police in 12 departments that participate in the National Justice Database. 

Researchers studied more than 19,000 use-of-force incidents from 2010-2015. Researchers found that the use of force against African-Americans is three times greater than it is for whites, even though officers use force in less than two percent of all their interactions with civilians.

In our democracy, officers who abuse their power breach the civic contract that places law enforcement on our streets. They must be held accountable, and legislation should back up their prosecution. 

There is a just way officers can police effectively and equitably. Change can happen. But justice for everyone must be the place where it starts.

Learn more about the work of Dallas Leadership Foundation in communities at dlftx.org.