Former LAPD supervisor on creating better relationships between residents and police

Is community policing something Angelenos want, and is it a scalable option? KCRW hears from Tim Williams, Jr. a former senior detective supervisor for the LA Police Department. He’s also author of “A Deep Dive: An Expert Analysis on Police Procedure, Use of Force and Wrongful Convictions.” Now he runs his own firm called TT Williams, Jr., Investigations, Inc.

“LAPD and law enforcement as a whole has embraced and maintained this gladiator mentality. And it has destroyed relationships with the community and law enforcement. … And if they [community members] want some meaningful reform, then they need to get onboard with this Community Safety Partnership bureau and get into the bowels of the organization, and then do some meaningful changes from the front end, all the way to the chain of command,” he says.

He adds, “The long term goal is to have this concept metastasize throughout the organization, so that you have a better community relations with the community in which you’re serving.”