Enhancement of the Relationship Between Police Officers and the Community

Enhancement of the Relationship Between Police Officers and the Community through Police Athletic League: Las Vegas, NV
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Enhancement of the Relationship Between Police Officers and the Community through Police Athletic League: Las Vegas, NV
Introduction
In their day-to-day operations, police officers must balance between weeding out criminals and crime while maintaining a positive relationship with the community in which the policing is done. Across American history, research indicates that there has been a breakdown of relationships between police agencies and minority communities based on systemic discrimination in law enforcement (USDOJ, 2022). Thus, local police departments like Las Vegas Police District have an additional responsibility of fostering and strengthening these relations to prevent crime and enhance community confidence in law enforcement agencies and officials. In Las Vegas, the Police Athletic League program was established to serve this purpose alongside other long-term benefits for the individual, agency, and the community.
Problem(s)
In America, the disproportionate incarceration rate of Black men is a vivid signifier of the continued problem of racism, particularly in cities considered liberal like Las Vegas. For a city once named the Mississippi of the West, Las Vegas has a history of the Jim Crow-style segregation, violent race relations, and Civil Rights Movement involvement by local communities. However, this history is overshadowed by today's unique position of the city as a global tourism hub (Parry, 2022). As a result, residents and travelers assume that the currently high ethnic and racial diversity within Las Vegas marks the end of racial policing problems in the post-Civil Rights era. In 2020 however, following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Las Vegas came under scrutiny for the death of Byron Willims in 2017. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's (LVMPD) response to Williams' death did not inspire confidence in the public as more people took to the streets, creating a rift between the police and community. Therefore, there is a need for the LVMPD to develop solid and collaborative relationships with these communities in recognition of the importance of accountable and responsible community policing.
Solution Through Law Enforcement
To establish and strengthen the relationship between police and communities, the LVMPD relies on the revamped Police Athletic League (PAL) and other community engagement avenues. PAL's mission is to provide area youth with positive alternatives through education, athletics, and community service. It is an organized crime prevention enterprise focused on juvenile crime and violence prevention. PAL operates on the mantra that crime prevention is more critical and even more effective than addressing crime through the criminal justice system using extensive weaponization and militarization of the police force. This view also forms the basis for the need for a good relationship between law enforcement agencies and the community as captured under contemporary theories of crime and law enforcement.
The s...