(Released 23 May 2016) Arlington, VA - CNA, in partnership with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) and in cooperation with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), will lead an initiative to provide training and technical assistance to implement the recommendations and action items of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing Final Report.

The initiative, Advancing 21st Century Policing, will support police agencies in: Albany, NY; Arlington, TX; Atlanta, GA; Camden, NJ; Columbia, SC; Doral, FL; Gun Lake Tribe (MI); Hennepin County, MN; Indio, CA; Kewaunee County, WI; Louisville, KY; Lowell, MA; San Antonio, TX; South Dakota Highway Patrol and Tucson, AZ.

The White House is sponsoring a kick-off event for the initiative today which will include remarks from Valerie B. Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama, and Loretta E. Lynch, Attorney General of the United States.

Task Force recommendations cover six main areas: building trust and legitimacy; policy and oversight; technology and social media; community policing and crime reduction; officer training and education and officer safety and wellness.

Project director James CHIPS Stewart, senior advisor Dr. James Chip Coldren, and project manager Dr. Laura Kunard of CNA’s Safety and Security (SAS) division will lead the initiative. SAS is a national leader in supporting homeland security, public safety, and emergency operations at all levels of government.  SAS uses research and analysis to deliver solutions to first responders, emergency managers and homeland security professionals that improve decision-making during crisis operations and support the development of risk-management policy, planning and operations.

“With our extensive experience in working with police agencies across the U.S. on community engagement, smart policing and police reform, we’re uniquely qualified to lead this initiative,” said CNA’s James CHIPS Stewart.  “It’s an important initiative and we look forward to working with local agencies to implement the recommendations from the President’s Task Force.”

Throughout the initiative, CNA’s technical assistance team will go on site to meet with members of local police departments, city governments and community stakeholders to discuss how best to implement the task force recommendations. After assessing the capacities of each site, CNA analysts will develop a series of action plans tailored to each location that includes coaching, problem solving and training and technical assistance resources.

After the initiative is completed, the CNA study team will produce a 21st Century Policing Field Operations Guide that features lessons learned from the participating law enforcement agencies. The guide will also include case studies of each of the 15 participating agencies and serve as a “how to” resource for other cities.

CNA, a nonprofit research and analysis organization located in Arlington, VA, serves the public's interests by providing in-depth research and solutions-oriented analyses to help decision makers choose the best course of action in setting policy and managing operations.

Contact:  Christine LaPaille, Director of Communications  Email: lapaillec@cna.org Phone (o): 703-824-2693, (m): 202-288-9354

Released by CNA.