Strengthening Police Legitimacy and Public Safety
Columbus Dialogue Team police officers talk to participants at this summer’s Pride March downtown.
At more than 20 protests and community demonstrations over the past nine months, two John Glenn College of Public Affairs professors have been observing the Columbus Division of Police response, walking through the crowds, taking notes and providing advice and feedback.
Inclusive Policing Through Data and Education
Glenn College researchers help forge police legitimacy through evidence and training.
Implementation of the research and reform effort came with support and financial assistance from Ohio State, the City of Columbus and a Community Orienting Policing Services Program grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Among the Glenn College recommendations the division is implementing: a review of national and international best practices; the development of a special unit — the Dialogue Team — to contact activists and demonstrators before, during and after protests; and the establishment of better training, policies and planning processes.
How Policy Changes Can Improve Community Policing
Glenn College faculty and researchers share their expertise on ways to build public trust and public safety.
“They worked out an agreement for 5 to 10 minutes of demonstrating. After 5 minutes, the group got up and left, and we didn’t have to do anything,” Dyer said.
Mabry said the collaboration between Columbus police and Ohio State landed on the Glenn College as the right fit for the effort considering the research that Hassan and Stott have done and the college’s Public Safety Leadership Academy for Law Enforcement.
Shaping the Future of Public Safety Leadership
The Glenn College Public Safety Leadership Academy for Law Enforcement is designed to retain strong personnel in law enforcement, prepare them for promotion and build the skills necessary to supervise any division within a law enforcement agency.
“If you go back to 2020, for everything they had an enforcement mentality — ‘We’re there to enforce the law.’ You see now they’re ignoring a lot of minor infractions. That’s a big change. It’s a tension within the division for a big group of officers who are there only to enforce,” Hassan said. “But if you arrest someone in public, all the other people react to that. So even if you’re enforcing, do it later without making a scene so you are interacting with a single person, not a crowd. If you come in with a lot of force, you are alienating the community.”
Johnson points out that protest is not illegal, immoral or unpatriotic.