Test question: What is the largest body of community-based organizations in the United States? Answer: Faith-based organizations. Nothing else comes close!

There are 350,000 individual houses of worship in the country, and 65,000,000 people participate in weekly gatherings. These houses of worship engage our country’s diverse neighborhoods in the smallest towns and the largest cities. Moreover, faith leaders are often respected and trusted voices; they can advocate for collaboration with law enforcement and provide a safe space for needed dialogue when necessary. In short, if your agency is looking to engage more closely with the public, faith-based organizations offer an unrivaled entry point.

Understanding the value of faith-based partnerships, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) supported MovementForward, Inc. (MFI), an Atlanta-based national nonprofit, in the creation of an array of resources to assist local law enforcement agencies in building this form of collaboration. MFI is the convener of National Faith & Blue Weekend, the nation’s largest collaborative community-police initiative, and the organization’s experience from Faith & Blue was supplemented by in-depth conversations with residents, faith partners, and law enforcement in three focus group cities: Brookhaven, Georgia (Brookhaven Police Department); New Brighton, Minnesota (New Brighton Police Division); and Baltimore County, Maryland (Baltimore County Police Department). The participants in the focus groups openly shared their experience of partnerships with the faith-community—in particular, what works and does not work and how to build understanding, create strategy, and root the programming in local agencies, among many other ideas and feedback.

Those conversations and the deep experience of organizing Faith & Blue were drawn from throughout the creation of the Faith-Based Partnerships Guidebook, which was released at the Professionalizing Law Enforcement Community Engagement Training (PLECET) National Conference in Atlanta May 3–6, 2023. The ideas and best practices of the guide are broadly applicable; although they were written with the faith-based community as a primary recipient, they can be used with any type of partnership.

The Faith-Based Partnerships Guidebook is available as a complete document with all the supporting materials in a single document or broken out into easily downloaded and printed resources. These quick-use materials include the following:

• Getting started list
• Event planning template
• Event surveys
• 100 event ideas
• Five sample event details
• Case studies

The guidebook offers essential considerations on the programming itself, including how to situate the work within an agency and in community engagement, and considerations in building understanding such as what to wear, what to do after a controversial incident, and engaging diversity. Additionally, the guide discusses programming components, tactics, and evaluation and data on how community engagement works. It also provides framework on how to create and implement a strategy, including a decision matrix on strategic options, which involve boosting recruitment, increasing morale, and resolving tensions. All materials are colorful, cleanly organized, and intended for ease of use.

In short, the faith-based partnership guide is a comprehensive manual that you can use to create all components of a partnership initiative or select just what you need for a single event. The COPS Office was pleased to support the creation of this valuable guide, which can be downloaded for free at any time. Questions can be directed to MFI.

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