EDITORIAL: Police respect a two-way street

By Valdosta Daily Times
Original article HERE

Positive interactions between police and people — especially young people — are crucial.

We like what Valdosta Chief of Police Leslie Manahan said about this week’s Coffee with a Cop at Chick-Fli-A.

“It lets people know that we are open and that we have an open dialogue with the community. I want everyone to feel like if they need something, they can come to us.”

She is exactly right and she is striking the right tone for our community.

Police are people too.

Mutual respect and communication are the keys between positive relationships between police and the community.

And it must be a two-way street.

When we show respect, we are more likely to receive respect. When we talk to people in positive ways, they will more than likely talk to us in the same kinds of ways.

Setting the right tone and environment begins at the top and the chief is right to express a commitment to being approachable and having a willingness to listen, even to critics.

It is a delicate balance but officers must be able to maintain authority while demonstrating humility in a profession where it can sometimes be dangerous to show vulnerability.

Serving and protecting must be more than a slogan. It must be a mindset, a culture and attitude that permeates a law-enforcement agency.

Let’s be honest, no one wants to get a ticket. No one wants to be arrested or questioned. Every interaction between police and the public is not going to turn out well.

Police sometimes say and do the wrong things and that should not be denied or ignored.

It is important that the authorities be open, candid and completely transparent when those things do happen and that the offenders be held accountable.

The community most also realize that police do encounter bad actors with bad intentions, some of whom represent a risk to the lives of the men and women who wear the uniform. They go to work each day putting themselves in harm’s way for our safety and security.

Respect for police and respect for the policed are equally important conversations that must be taking place simultaneously.

Coffee with a Cop is a great gesture.

Effective community policing must also include daily relationship building, as many positive interactions as possible and — more than anything — the public showing respect for the police and the work they do while the police are showing respect for every person they come in contact with each day.