POLICE III: Franklin Department Joins Trust-Building Effort

The Franklin Police Department is pleased to announce that they have completed a pledge to enhance trust and collaboration between police and the communities served. The pledge is part of an initiative called the Trust Building Campaign which was started by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the world’s largest and most influential professional association for police leaders. To join the Trust Building Campaign, law enforcement agencies must pledge to implement 25 key policies and leading practices within a 36-month period.

Chief Thomas Lynch made the decision to join the Trust Building Campaign as a means to enhance the trust and partnership the department has with the community.

By completing the Trust Building Campaign Pledge, the Franklin Police Department established policies and trainings, conducted assessments, and developed strategies within six focused areas (bias-free policing; use of force; leadership and culture; recruitment, hiring, and retention; victim services; and community relations) designed to encourage positive community-police partnerships that promote safe, effective interactions, create strategies to prevent and reduce crime, and improve the wellbeing and quality of life for all.

The IACP is encouraged by the efforts of agencies as they incorporate the pledge’s concepts into their everyday operations. When trust building is prioritized, community members and the police benefit from relationships focused on unified visions, goals, and values. Building and rebuilding trust in the community and around the world is critical, and must remain a primary objective.

The greatest benefit in taking the Trust Building Campaign Pledge has been reinforcing the policies and procedures that the department has established through the accreditation process and looking at them through the lens of community trust building and partnerships.

Chief Lynch states, “I feel the police department has a great relationship with the community but we are always trying to do better, to do a little more. The Franklin Police Department is constantly looking for ways to connect with and enhance those partnerships. The IACP Trust Building Campaign gave us a mechanism to review and improve our policies, procedures, and training with the goal of increasing the community’s trust and create additional positive relationships”.

For more information about the Trust Building Campaign, visit the IACP’s website at https://www.theiacp.org/iacp-trust-building-campaign