Did you know?
The Babylonians New Year’s Day was March 23rd. March was a logical time period for the New Year because spring begins and crops are planted. Even the Romans celebrated the New Year on March 1st, not January 1st. The custom of setting New Year’s resolutions began during this period in Rome, with such resolutions usually involving a moral flavor: mostly to be good to others.
Then Julius Caesar came along and changed the calendar! In order to realign the Roman calendar with the sun, Julius Caesar had to add 90 extra days to the year 46 B.C. when he introduced his new Julian calendar. He also changed New Year’s Day to January 1st. Caesar wanted to honor Janus, the two-faced god who looks backwards into the old year and forward into the new. January 1st didn’t have any astronomical or agricultural significance, it was just a random date selected by Caesar.
So, with a little bit of randomness and in the spirit of New Years, here are some suggested Community Policing resolutions!
As an agency or individual:
- I will reach out to at least one local group or business each month this year and develop a collaborative partnership.
- I will learn what “procedural justice” is.
- Our agency will host a “Coffee with a Cop” event.
- I will discuss a community policing concept at least once a week at roll call.
- Our agency will administer the Community Policing Self-Assessment Tool.
- Our agency will incorporate problem solving, community engagement and critical thinking skills into our FTO program.
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