Dear community members, I felt it vital to address the unfortunate events that have affected every city, village and individual in the United States.
Unfortunately we can not change what happened in Minneapolis. We can promise that we have been continuously learning, training and engaging in best practices to make sure we deliver the most professional police services to the community we serve.
We value the life of every person and consider life to be the highest value, all persons should be treated with dignity and respect.
There are standards that we as police officers uphold, our policing practice must reflect our recognition of equality of all races and cultures. Our task as police officers is to protect and preserve lives at all costs. We cannot betray the sacred trust you have placed in us.
The actions and inaction of police officers, leading to the death of any individual in their custody, shows failure at many levels, but most importantly, a failure in the most vital and sworn mission of a police officer: to safeguard human life and instill a sense of safety in their community. These actions of a few stand in complete contrast to the standard that the vast majority of law enforcement agencies, including the Round Lake Park Police Department, work to uphold every day.
Affirmation of
SHARED PRINCIPLES
March 22, 2018
• We reject discrimination toward any person that is based on race, ethnicity, religion, color, nationality, immigrant status, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or familial status.
• We endorse the six pillars in the report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The first pillar is to build and rebuild trust through procedural justice, transparency, accountability, and honest recognition of past and present obstacles.
• We endorse the four pillars of procedural justice, which are fairness, voice (i.e., an opportunity for citizens and police to believe they are heard), transparency, and impartiality.
• We endorse the values inherent in community policing, which includes community partnerships involving law enforcement, engagement of police officers with residents outside of interaction specific to enforcement of laws, and problem-solving that is collaborative, not one-sided.
• We believe that developing strong ongoing relationships between law enforcement and communities of color at the leadership level and street level will be the keys to diminishing and eliminating racial tension.
• We believe that law enforcement and community leaders have a mutual responsibility to encourage all citizens to gain a better understanding and knowledge of the law to assist them in their interactions with law enforcement officers.
• We support diversity in police departments and in the law enforcement profession. Law enforcement and communities have a mutual responsibility and should work together to make a concerted effort to recruit diverse police departments.
• We believe de-escalation training should be required to ensure the safety of community members and officers. We endorse using de-escalation tactics to reduce the potential for confrontations that endanger law enforcement officers and community members; and the principle that human life should be taken only as a last resort.
The Men and Women of the Round Lake Park Police Department
