COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:

CITIZENS ACADEMY/SOCIAL MEDIA

OUTREACH
PRESENTED BY: RYAN OPEKA, UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO
LEPSL 520 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DEFINED

'Community engagement' is:

o A planned process
o with the specific purpose of working with identified groups,
o to address issues affecting their well-being.

The linking of the term 'community' to 'engagement' serves to broaden the scope, shifting the focus from the individual to the collective, with the associated implications for
inclusiveness to ensure consideration is made of the diversity that exists within any community.

Community Engagement as it specifically relates to the role of government,

o mutual communication
o and deliberation

Broad applications for the purposes of implementing and empowering change

Informing, Consulting, Involving, Collaborating, and Empowering
. (Cavaye, J. 2001)
 WHAT IS A CITIZENS ACADEMY?

General Concept: Who Benefits and How:

The public
Police Instructors provide training in the legal, social and procedural aspects of policing in an
effort to reduce crime through stronger citizen commitment to the PD and the community Increased police presence
Greater understanding
General Goals:
Access to resources
The information and insight gained from the program allows all
involved to assess their roles and responsibilities in the community
Informs public on police capabilities and limitations The department

Integrates the community into the department and vice versa Gains additional strength in numbers

Creates Stewarts within the public to champion the police mission Greater cooperation

fostering effective and productive police-community partnerships. Positive interactions

History: Case Studies:

The concept of the Citizens Academy began in the UK in 1977.
Tustin Police Department
Came to the US in 1985 with Orlando, FL Police Department
Coral Springs Police Department

(CPAA, 2013)
 SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT

One size fits all Examples:

Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram Edmonton Police use Youtube to educate
Ability to reach a large market citizens (Murray, 2011)

Cost effective Officer Daniels of SDPD engaging the

community via Instagram, Snapchat, and
Humanizes the Badge Twitter

(Murray, 2011)
 LEADERSHIP STYLES

Transformational
Transformational Leadership Theory achieves support and buy in by caring for and inspiring
followers in order to cultivate a relationship that leads to achievement (Ten, 2013).

Servant
The Servant Leadership theory, identified by Robert Greenleaf, is applied when a leader
creates an environment of serving needs, and creates a situation of cooperation and reciprocal
service (Smith, 2005, p. 4). When one acts as a servant leader, their people follow out of love
and gratitude rather than out of compulsion or fear (Christianity, 2013).
 CONCLUSION

Many members of the public do not trust police, particularly those from underprivileged
communities.
A significant segment of the population does not fully understand what police do, the
services they provide, or why they employ certain practices when policing.
A Citizens Academy can be used to bridge a gap between the public and the police.
Social media engagement connects with those who cannot connect physically, and helps
to humanize the officers of your department.
 RESOURCES

Christianity 9 to 5 (2013). Ten leadership theories in five minutes. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKUPDUDOBVo&feature=youtu.be
Presidents Task Force on 21st Century Policing, 2015. Final report of the presidents task-force on 21st century policing. Washington DC:
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
Smith, C. (2005, Dec. 4). Servant leadership: The leadership theory of Robert K. Greenleaf. Retrieved from
https://ole.sandiego.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-759593-dt-content-rid-3049321_1/courses/LEPS-520-01-SP16/640greenleaf.pdf
Cavaye, Dr. J (2001) 'Community engagement framework project: scoping and review paper', Committee on Land Resources, Queensland,
Policy brief No 10, July 2001, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development retrieved from
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/effective-engagement/introduction-to-engagement/what-is-community-engagement
Citizens Police Academy Association (2013). The history of the citizens police academy. Retrieved from
http://www.illinoiscpaa.org/history.html
Murray, J. (2011). Edmonton police to educate the public via Youtube. Netnews Ledger. Retrieved from
http://www.netnewsledger.com/2011/08/18/edmonton-police-service-launch-violence-reduction-strategy/