ORLANDO, Fla. -- Law enforcement across Central Florida engage with the community to forge relationships. But in a follow-up to a Spectrum News 13 Watchdog investigation, local community leaders say their definition of community policing doesn’t match law enforcement's idea of it.
Orlando community activist Lawanna Gelzer said, “Coming out and having a fish fry, giveaway food, that’s nice, but that is not community policing to me.”
Gelzer believes community policing should involve candid conversations between officers and the public — it is what she calls heightened transparency.
“Community policing is actually on the ground, but how do you equally apply the law in all the communities? It’s not having a barbecue, it’s not that. That’s great and dandy to build relationships, but community policing, we have to start with the public policies and the policies that are effecting the community differently,” Gelzer said.
TONIGHT: We are #continuingtheconversation centered on #communitypolicing with community activists and leaders. In our @MyNews13 #Watchdog follow-up report they discuss their idea of effective community policing & forging a stronger bond between area law enforcement & the public. pic.twitter.com/Dztp9BEVt1
— Curtis McCloud (@CurtisNews13) July 14, 2020
Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon says he encourages officers to forge bonds with the community they serve but says a lack of manpower can make that challenging. Rolon says despite that challenge, his officers find effective ways to reach out and connect with people in the communities they serve.
“Officers need to understand that every opportunity to engage a child, engage an adult, a young person, engage the elderly is priceless,” Rolon said.
While there are no price tags on community engagement, cries to defund the police across the country grow louder. But community activist Sandra Fatmi-Hall says conversation between police and the community is the first step.
“I think our officers do need to sit down and have that conversation, what we need to do differently. I don’t think we need to defund them...because they are necessary, but I do think something has to change. Reform is important," Sandra-Fatmi-Hall said.
Fatmi-Hall is no stranger to working with law enforcement. She teamed up with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office over the last three years, working to build positive relationships with law enforcement and the Pine Hills community.
“Until the community trusts the police, it’s not going to change. They have to be able to trust them, and not just trust them in Orlando and Orange County, across this great nation.”
While Sandra says while reform is needed, she believes it won’t work without trust.
