PEORIA, Ill. – Peoria Police says it’s taking what it hopes will be a positive step forward in improving race relations, in a way other communities have also done.
Police Chief Eric Echevarria will join leaders of the Peoria NAACP chapter Tuesday for a news conference where what’s called the “Ten Shared Principles” will be signed.
The principles, as listed in a news release, are:
1. We value the life of every person and consider life to be of the highest value.
2. All persons should be treated with dignity and respect.
3. We reject discrimination toward any person that is based on race, ethnicity, religion, color, nationality, immigrant status, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or familial status.
4. We endorse the six pillars in the report of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The first pillar is to build and rebuild trust through procedural justice, transparency, accountability, and honest recognition of past and present obstacles.
5. We endorse the four pillars of procedural justice, which are fairness, voice, transparency, and impartiality.
6. We endorse the values inherent in community policing, which includes community partnerships involving law enforcement, engagement of police officers with residents outside of interaction specific to enforcement of laws, and problem solving that is collaborative, not one sided.
7. We believe that developing strong ongoing relationships between law enforcement and communities of color at the leadership level and street level will be the keys to diminishing and eliminating racial tension.
8. We believe that law enforcement and community leaders have a mutual responsibility to encourage all citizens to gain a better understanding and knowledge of the law to assist them in their interactions with law enforcement officers.
9. We support diversity in police departments and in the law enforcement profession. Law enforcement and communities have a mutual responsibility and should work together to make a concerted effort to recruit diverse police departments.
10. We believe de-escalation training should be required to ensure the safety of community members and officers. We endorse using de-escalation tactics to reduce the potential for confrontations that endanger law enforcement officers and community members; and the principle that human life should be taken only as a last resort.
Echevarria, in a news release, says the agreement has already been developed and signed by NAACP and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.
“By signing this, we vow to value the life of every person, treat all persons with dignity and respect, reject discrimination, build, and rebuild trust, uphold fairness and transparency, community partnerships, building strong relationships with communities of color, ensuring citizens have a better understanding of the law, supporting diversity at our police departments and focusing on de-escalation training,” said Echevarria, in a news release.
The news conference is Tuesday at 11:00 A.M. at the Peoria NAACP headquarters.
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