Redlands, CA Police Department Adding the Words PEACE OFFICER to Its Squad Cars In Conjunction with NYU, Redlands and Police2Peace Announce Research Phase

  REDLANDS, CA - 11/06/2017 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

Research has begun to assess the impact on both police officers and their communities of adding the words PEACE OFFICER to patrol cars. This was announced today by Police2Peace, a new charitable organization founded to help law enforcement agencies. 

Inspired by the idea that words matter, Police2Peace works with law enforcement agencies to create better interactions between communities and law enforcement.   An initiative of the charitable foundation of Warren Moon (Crescent Moon Foundation), Police2Peace helps law enforcement agencies convey messages of forward-thinking and community mindedness.

Research to evaluate the impact of the decals on the police and community is being conducted by independent research collaboration of NYU and UCLA called BetaGov.   The BetaGov team at NYU is conducting an independent evaluation of the decals, to assess the impact of the decals on the perceptions of the police and the community.  BetaGov is an interdisciplinary research team which provides rapid-cycle innovation and testing support to government agencies at no cost.  The research will involve public sentiment analysis and will include surveys of law enforcement officers and community members.  

Said Dr. Angela Hawken, the founder and director of BetaGov, “We look forward to conducting this research and assessing the impact of messaging on prominent community vehicles such as police cars,” said. 

“This project is a good opportunity for our department to work with the private sector to see whether the markings on our units influence the community’s perception of police,” said Police Chief Mark Garcia of the Redlands, CA police department.   

Located east of Los Angeles, the Redlands, CA police department will be adding the words PEACE OFFICER to its entire fleet.  

Background

Police Chief Mark Garcia

Mark A. Garcia is the Chief of Police in Redlands, California.  

The Redlands Police Department is committed to enhancing public safety in the City of Redlands. A history of established trust and cooperative efforts between community groups and local law enforcement have led to the development of strong partnerships that allow the Redlands Police Department to proactively address the needs of the citizens and maintain strong ties with the community.

Angela Hawken, Ph.D., Director BetaGov

Angela Hawken, Ph.D., is the founder and director of BetaGov.  Her team now facilitates over 200 randomized controlled trials across the United States, working closely with practitioners to identify areas for policy and practice improvement, and giving practitioners a central role so that research is done with them, not to them.  http://www.betagov.org/

About BetaGov

BetaGov and Police2Peace are collaborating on several  initiatives, including placing the words PEACE OFFICER on  public-safety vehicles in communities in the US.  In this collaboration, BetaGov acts as the independent external evaluator of outcomes, and Police2Peace supports the departments with organization, administration and funding of the new decals. This is a highly collaborative initiative where they work closely with the heads of law-enforcement agencies to conduct research that conforms to the highest academic standards. http://www.betagov.org/

About Police2Peace

Police2Peace is an innovative social engineering initiative which is quickly evolving nationally. At its most fundamental level, it simply transforms the term police officer into the term PEACE OFFICER on existing squad cars in a municipality.  Police2Peace seeks to create better interactions between communities and law enforcement.  Our first initiative is to add a decal which says PEACE OFFICER to law enforcement squad cars which display the word POLICE on them.  http://police2peace.com/

For more information about Police2Peace, go to http://police2peace.com/.  For more information about BetaGov, go to http://www.betagov.org/.   For more information about the Crescent Moon Foundation go to https://www.crescentmoonfoundation.org/.