Police Culture Challenged At Platteville Conference

Police Encouraged To Build Trust In Communities They Serve

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Plattville police conference
Capt. Chip Huth, Kansas City police department Swat team commander, addresses a police conference in Platteville. Gilman Halsted/WPR

The Criminal Justice Department at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville has launched an effort to help Wisconsin police departments build trust with the communities they serve.

The goal of the effort is to reduce police shootings by training police to be guardians of public safely, not just warriors in the fight against crime. The warrior-versus-guardian debate was a central theme at a conference in Platteville this week for police chiefs and rank-and-file officers. It featured a panel of community policing experts from around the country who called for change in police culture.

Kansas City Police SWAT team commander Capt. Chip Huth said if police want to be trusted, they have to have to earn it.

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“What we’re suggesting for police officers is that you have respect, a basic regard for the human dignity of every individual you meet,” said Huth.

Other panelists called for more training for officers in how to de-escalate a violent confrontation before using deadly force to resolve it. Conference organizers said they will seek federal funding to provide more training in non-violent community policing tactics.

Staci Strobl heads the criminal justice program at Platteville, and she said officers need to be rewarded with a promotion when they defuse a violent a situation without using force.

The conference also included examples of community policing from Kalamazoo, Michigan, where officers have gained the trust of residents in high crime neighborhoods by sponsoring youth sports programs. Strobl said the long-term goal is to create a network of resources, including federal grants to fund new tracing programs for police departments around the state.

The effort is closely tied to recommendations that came out of President Baracj Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing established in 2014.