Community policing initiative makes pilot grants in five local cities

The Detroit Police Department is among five local entities receiving grants to address inequities in policing and public safety.

A new effort aimed at addressing systemic inequities in policing and public safety has made a pilot round of grants to five local cities/police departments and community groups.

The Community Policing Innovations Initiative launched early this year has attracted $1.5 million in support so far from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Hudson-Webber Foundation, Ballmer Group and Oakland County.

The initiative was developed as a response to the killing of George Floyd Jr. in police custody last year in Minneapolis and is aimed at supporting communities in reform of their public safety departments and systems, Katie Brisson, vice president, program for the Community Foundation said in an emailed statement.

An initial round of $200,000 in grants will provide support for local public safety departments to work with their communities to address issues in police practices, systems and services.

The goal for the Initiative is to provide the guidance and support necessary for local communities in partnership with local law enforcement, to develop community-driven, substantive, and pragmatic changes in the way that policing and public safety services are provided.

The initiative is providing technical assistance tailored to each community based on their specific needs, said Mariam Noland, president of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, which is administering the initiative.

"Our goal is that the first communities receiving support can serve as examples to others in southeast Michigan and beyond."

Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School and member of the Community Foundation and Hudson-Webber boards, is chairing the initiative.

Organizations selected for the pilot phase include:

Canton Township Police Department and Canton Coalition for Inclusive Communities

City of Detroit/ Detroit Police Department

East Downtown Dearborn Development Authority and Black Legacy Advancement Coalition

Inkster Police Department

Beloved Community Initiative and First AME Church of Farmington Hills

Each will receive $40,000 in technical assistance support over one year to address one of five areas: use of force, officer accountability, disparate enforcement and treatment, reimagining public safety, and truth & reconciliation.

"Some communities may want to explore whether their enforcement work has disparate effects on communities of color, and so they may choose to collect data or raise awareness of implicit bias," McQuade said in an email.

Other communities may want to assess whether to use specialists other than police officers to address certain issues, such as trauma, mental health or addiction, she said.

"And some grant applicants may want to use a structured process to acknowledge historical tensions between police and community and develop a shared vision for public safety through programs such as citizens' police academies, de-escalation training and restorative justice conversations."

The Community Foundation is now accepting applications from cities in the seven-county region of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Monroe, Livingston and St. Clair for second-round funding.