We believe the policies and procedures of government agencies can foster or erode community trust and thus community involvement. And so we work to support and partner with others to create compassionate policies that affirm the worth and dignity of all people.
One of our focuses for PP&J is the local reform of the Oceanside Police Department (OPD), which is ongoing. You can see what we have done on our What We Do (Part 1) page.
Our current reform focus is on revising some of the wording on the OPD Commendations and Complaints webpage to communicate openness to and a welcoming of complaints, and to view them as ultimately helping the ongoing development and growth of the OPD. We will be submitting a request to the OPD asking them to remove words and an entire statement that appears three different times, which could be perceived as intimidating by someone coming forward to complain, and to add a section that clearly highlights the process . Te hope tp present this to a Community Advisory Board in September.
This is low-hanging fruit, and the changes would not require any cost, for it is merely editing and inputting text. These types of changes, though small, can begin to subtly shift an organization, planting seeds in the community that lead to changes in perspectives regarding the OPD.
This is just the beginning. I share this with you in case police reform is something you might be interested in and would want to help make happen. Let me know. You can email me from the contact section.