Brooklyn Park Says Community Policing Makes For Safer Streets
Brooklyn Park believes community policing is the most effective way to drive down the crime rate and make the city a safer place to live.
“We can’t do it alone,” said Chief Mark Bruley, Brooklyn Park Police Department. “It has to come as a community partnership, and when we’ve seen it, it’s been incredibly effective.”
Bruley plans to work with more groups like Minnesota Acts Now, a local non-profit whose presence has made a positive impact on high-crime areas in the city.
“Three years ago there were places we couldn’t even pull in without getting rocks thrown at our cars or get out to investigate without getting threatened with violence,” said Bruley. “That has changed.”
Brooklyn Park Police talk with residents about crime and trust during a community gathering on Tuesday evening.
Bruley attributes the change to community members recognizing his officer’s professional conduct in the field, and the fact that none of the events sparking civil unrest in the Twin Cities took place in Brooklyn Park.
“I hear it a lot from community members who say we know that wasn’t you, and that’s important,” stated Bruley.
Brooklyn Park’s mission of community-oriented policing also puts a high priority on the department’s transparency with the public.
“For too long it’s been the colonel secret in law enforcement that you close the curtains and no one knows what anyone does and how they do it,” Bruley said. “We’re not supposed to be a military occupying force holding people back, we’re supposed to be working with our community to make them safe.”
Volunteers Make the Difference
Helping make the Brooklyn Park community safe are volunteers who work in the city’s youth violence initiative and mentorship program.
The department credits the adult mentorship program as being incredibly effective for kids on the fringe.
“They could hang with that person who’s involved in gangs or has guns, or they can go play basketball at the Zane Rec Center with a bunch of trusting young adults,” said Bruley.
Bruley is counting on the support of citizens who want to see change in Brooklyn Park.
“Community members are sustainable, they can intervene in kids lives, they can be mentors, they can be teachers,” stated Bruley. “This community is amazing and it always has been.”
Learn more about the Brooklyn Park Police Department.
Related: Brooklyn Park’s New Police Chief Says Gun Violence Will Be Top Priority
