Police departments across the country have been in the news recently for numerous reasons, most notably for excessive force against Blacks and the deaths of multiple unarmed African-American men.
Thousands of Black law enforcement executives from across the U.S. are convening in Indianapolis July 11 – 15 at the JW Marriott Indianapolis hotel for the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives’ (NOBLE) 39th Annual Training Conference and Exhibition to discuss current events regarding law enforcement, diversity and inclusion, ways to mend cops’ relationship with the community and more.
“We’ve been working since 2010 to prepare for this,” said Lloyd Crowe, assistant deputy chief of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD). “We’ve also worked closely with Visit Indy to make this conference a success.”
Crowe said topics to be discussed during the conference include learning, evaluating and discussing implementation of President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing; how to handle a crisis; and gang resistance education and training.
Also on the agenda is mentoring young Black law enforcement; women in leadership positions in local police departments; and ethics.
NOBLE will also host a town hall meeting July 12. Stg. Kendale Adams, with media relations at IMPD, said this is a prime opportunity for the Black community to engage with law enforcement.
“We will have police chiefs in Indianapolis who have best practices in place. We want the public to know what they’re doing and maybe we could implement it here if we don’t already do it,” said Adams.
NOBLE members in Indy for the conference will also participate in a march on July 15 along Martin Luther King Jr. Street. They invite the public to watch police officers in uniform walk through the neighborhood in support of positive Black communities.
“A significant part of this conference will be spent on youth. We’re trying to get our youth more engaged in law in their communities and being better citizens,” said Gregory Thomas, national first vice president of NOBLE.
NOBLE serves as the conscience of law enforcement by being committed to “Justice by Action.” NOBLE has nearly 60 chapters, including Indianapolis, and has over 4,000 members worldwide that represent chief executive officers, such as a lieutenant, and command-level law enforcement officials from federal, state, county, municipal law enforcement agencies and criminal justice practitioners.
“There was a need to come together to network, but to make sure there was a platform we could use to push ideas in Washington D.C. or any political entity and let them know what we need to improve, like training or diversity,” said Thomas.
He adds NOBLE is always working to boost the number of Black executives among law enforcement agencies and invite them to join other Blacks in NOBLE.
“Issues that are paramount now in law enforcement, going back to Ferguson or events like that, speaks to the need to have different voices in charge,” said Thomas.
The New York Black law enforcement executive said increased Black law enforcement doesn’t mean crime amongst Blacks will cease to exist; that Black law enforcement will “take it easy” on other Blacks or that Black officials have all the answers to cities’ crime problems. What it does mean is that Blacks have a seat at the table and can make decisions.
Thomas said issues that have recently occurred across the country points to police departments’ need for increased training and consequences for cops who treat people differently based on their race or use excessive force.
“The way to get change is to have a microscope on change. If you let it go, it goes away,” said Thomas.
In addition to working on the inside of American police departments, Thomas said NOBLE is working to transition community policing from a strategy and into a mindset. He said it shouldn’t matter who is in charge or what funding is available– the community should be comfortable with their law enforcement.
“You can’t make friends at the crime scene,” he said.
NOBLE is excited to come to the Indianapolis community for its annual conference and looks forward to engaging the community.
“IMPD Chief Rick Hite is a member of the Greater Indianapolis Chapter of NOBLE so we try to go to places that support our Black law enforcement,” said Thomas.
For more information on NOBLE or the conference, visit Noblenational.org.
