In our first edition of the Inclusion Project, sharing what organizations are doing to tackle racism and discrimination.
What is the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) doing on diversity and inclusion. The EPS has been doing a program called Commitment to Action. On November 18, Edmonton Police Chief, Dale McFee, presented the report of the program to the Edmonton Police Commission. Edmonton Police Service (EPS)’s Report on Commitment to Action was deemed “applaudable” by commissioners with police services across the country coming to take notes….
It focuses on racialized/underserved communities. The Commitment to Action recorded that younger Edmontonians have lower police satisfaction than older ones. 212 community stakeholders were involved with a total of 616 participants took part in the Commitment to Action sessions. EPS had a physical and online portal for everyone to get involved. Beat officers were cited as the way forward from the sessions. Commitment to Action focuses on relationship building, training, professional development, partner development, communication and transparency, community engagement, and innovation. Participants favoured continuous engagement. Know Your Rights educational pieces were translated into 16 languages.
The Edmonton Police Chief will be involved in Commitment to Action session in 2022, the implementation roadmap beginning in early 2022.
“Our crime is going down and perception is going up….,” Chief Dale McFee.
Commissioner Kemi Kufuor-Boakye who joined the Edmonton Police Commission due to the George Floyd after shocks, described the report as “ecstatic” and wishes the EPS continues in the direction of Commitment to Action and the plan of action around it. A comment echoed by Commissioner Janet-Sue Hamilton, and Commissioner Erick Ambtman.“
“….There were some bumps along the way, but it’s now a belief where we’re going. It’s a priority now…,” Chief Dale McFee.
“….we had to be vulnerable, interact with the community, COVID-19 challenges, George Floyd, shared vulnerability, courage showed by participants, what can we do to move together, creating that shared space. Police services in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Medicine Hat have all been to the EPS to learn from their experiences with Commitment to Action and share with what the EPS is doing with Commitment to Action experiences….,” EPS.
Read more and get involved with the Inclusion Project.
Read the weekly Diversity Online here https://diversitymag.ca/staging/diversity-weekly-news-november…/
Watch Diversity TV right here https://youtu.be/KfQx86QE9uc
