Vital Partners: Mayors and Police Chiefs Working Together

Through effective partnerships among mayors, police chiefs, and municipal agencies, cities and towns across America have enhanced the safety and well-being of children and youth. The initiatives profiled in this report address a broad range of concerns, but they share four critical elements: the belief that collaboration is essential for achieving results; a commitment to community oriented policing strategies on a citywide basis or in targeted neighborhoods; a focus on key indicators to preserve momentum and measure progress; and efforts to craft a shared community vision that can sustain these partnerships over time. Each initiative in its own way has played an important role in protecting and nurturing the next generation.

Forging Collaborations Between Mayors and Law Enforcement Leaders Municipal partnerships are launched for many different reasons, but the catalyst that brings mayors, police chiefs, and other city agencies together often is the recognition that neither the city nor its young people can thrive without such collaborative efforts. In New Haven, Connecticut, the mayor and police chief responded to concerns about the effects of street violence on children. In Boston, Massachusetts, and New Brighton, Minnesota, the inspiration for cities arose from one or more neighborhoods where violent crimes were most likely to occur. And in still other cities, the motivation to act grew out of a desire to prevent potential problems (e.g., Chula Vista, California’s launch of the Olweus bullying prevention program or Sallisaw, Oklahoma’s adaptation of school-based substance abuse prevention strategies) or to continue building on progress (e.g., the aspirations of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and Fort Worth, Texas, to earn a top ranking as the safest city in the nation).

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http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/ric/Publications/e0207659_vital%20partners.pdf