Law Enforcement, Race, and Reconciliation in Washington State

Law Enforcement, Race, and Reconciliation in Washington State
The Hope and Promise of One State’s Efforts to See Justice and Promote Trust

(published by the National Crime Prevention Council, 2003)

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Summary:

Forty years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, Americans still struggle with racism and equal access to justice. In King County, Washington, there were nine police officer-involved shootings of people of color in as many years. When each shooting was ruled justified, minority leaders in the community raised questions of bias, institutional racism, and racial insensitivity within law enforcement. But through the efforts of Dave Reichert, sheriff of King County, and Rev. Donovan Rivers, founder of the Apostolic Clergy Advisory Council, a summit on race and reconciliation was held. Participants used “Appreciative Inquiry,” a facilitated dialoguing process, to develop recommendations in four areas—trust, reconciliation, justice, and leadership and service—that would lead toward community restoration. National Crime Prevention Council staff assisted in the preparation of the summit and in the implementation of summit recommendations.

Why does FASTEN recommend this resource?

These meetings and summits have set a groundbreaking precedent of how law enforcement and the faith community can work together to address critical issues affecting their communities and have a successful outcome.  This short book includes a model that can be followed in any community that enables the parties to communicate in a safe atmosphere and produce recommendations that focus on specific actions to achieve success.