New Program Aims to Strengthen Relationships Between Residents, Evanston Police

The Evanston Police Department is hopeful a new program will help strengthen relationships between local police officers and community members

The police department in conjunction with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (N.O.B.L.E.) is launching a new community-building initiative entitled, “The Law and Your Community.”

“The Law and Your Community is an interactive program designed to engage and educate the community about constructive ways to build trust and improve relationships between police officers and community members,” according to an Evanston Police Department press release.

The program is taught by police officers and can focus on topics ranging from constitutional rights to bullying. The program was recently introduced in Chicago by the Chicago Police Department and later implemented in various Chicago Public Schools.

Officers from the Community Strategies Bureau of the Evanston Police Department as well as multiple supervisors were certified by N.O.B.L.E. as official instructors in May of 2015.

“Although the original goal was to build better relationships with youth, the program is open to the community. The program is rich with information and can be customized based on the needs of the group and/or organization,” according to the news release.

Ideal hosts of the program would be churches, community groups, schools and scout-type troops.

For more information about the program or to schedule an event, you can contact Officer Daley here. For more information about N.O.B.L.E. you can visit here.