Mayors Make Strides to Strengthen Police-Community Relations

The U.S. Conference of Mayors released a 49 city report highlighting local efforts to improve police-community relations. 

The report came after the Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights, and Dallas shootings that occurred in early July. Mayors of cities across the nation have engaged police chiefs and local leaders to have conversations on race relations and policing. These meetings include activities intended to improve the relationship between the police and the communities they serve.

“This report shows that mayors are stepping up to the challenge that the recent shootings have posed to their communities,” Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran, said. “They are working with police chiefs, other local officials, clergy, and other community leaders during this difficult period, examining their local situation, listening to their residents, and working in partnership with them to strengthen police/community relations.”

In undertaking these efforts, mayors and other local leaders are responding to President Barack Obama’s July 13 call to all Americans – no matter who they are or where they live – to do whatever they can to foster community conversations on race relations, justice, policing, and equality. 

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is releasing a report that describes such efforts in 49 cities in 30 states that submitted information to the organization. Some of these efforts were initiated specifically in response to the President’s call and the needs of community members to come together at a difficult time.

On July 13, President Obama asked The U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities to help make these conversations occur  in 100 cities in 30 days. The Conference and NLC agreed, and have been working with the White House to encourage mayors and other local officials to convene community conversations.  As of today, 105 cities have told both organizations that community conversations and other activities have occurred, or will be planned in the future.The following cities were part of the report:

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are nearly 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented by their elected mayor.