Voiceover:
00.00   This is The Beat - a podcast series that keeps you in the know about 
the latest community policing topics facing our nation

Susan Shah:
00.08   My name is Susan Shah, and I'm a program director in the Center on 
Immigration at the Vera Institute of Justice.

In 2010, the Vera Institute and COPS office partnered to produce a guide for 
law enforcement agencies that were looking to either begin or to enhance 
their work with immigrant communities.

The guide is a national report titled "Engaging Police in Immigrant 
Communities: Promising Practices From the Field." This report profiles 
promising practices from 10 police agencies from across the country. This 
podcast is part of a series of recordings that accompany the report. Each 
podcast is in a Q and A format and provides practical advice from agency 
personnel who have been involved in the promising practices featured in our 
national report.

In this podcast, we are joined by Chief Brian Kyes of the Chelsea Police 
Department in Massachusetts. Chief Kyes has 25 years of law enforcement 
experience and he's here to talk about police in community roles in 
addressing hot button issues. Thank you for joining us, Chief Kyes.

Brian Kyes:
01.07   It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you, Susan.

Shah:
01.09   In our report, we talk about your agency's collaboration with the 
community-based organization, the Chelsea Collaborative. How did that 
collaboration begin?

Kyes:
01.18   Well, when I first became police chief, I made partnership building 
one of my first priorities. I want to create new, innovative partnerships and 
strengthen existing relationships with organizations that serve our city's 
diverse communities.

The department had worked with the Chelsea Collaborative in the past, and to 
me it seemed like the perfect place to start, because the organization has a 
well-developed relationship with the community. The executive director, 
Gladys Vega, is a longtime community organizer and resident of the city of 
Chelsea. She is extremely well-known in the community and is both respected 
and trusted by a multitude of diverse groups in our city. I knew that if the 
Chelsea Police Department was going to become the highly trusted law 
enforcement organization that I envisioned, with the optimum level of faith 
and confidence of the public that we served, I desperately needed the support 
and assistance of Gladys Vega and her reputable organization.

The Chelsea Collaborative has worked so closely for and with the immigrant 
population since the early 1990s. So, within a week of becoming police chief 
in 2007, I had a meeting scheduled with Gladys Vega.

Shah:
02.14   It's clear that you worked fast, Chief. What did you discuss during 
that first meeting?

Kyes:
02.18   Well, we mapped out a general plan to work together on many projects 
for the upcoming year. The plan included collaborating on a summer youth 
employment program and also a community action team setup. We discussed ways 
for the department to meet and work with the faith-based community. We also 
talked about setting up specific forum for immigration and custom enforcement 
officials, also known as ICE, to join with community members and explain 
their priorities and mission. For Gladys and me, it was important to keep the 
community informed and demonstrate that Chelsea police officers are there to 
be helpful and trusted.

Shah:
02.49   Did you share any ideas about any plans you had to change internal 
operations?

Kyes:
02.53   Yes, I did. During that first meeting, I shared with Gladys some of 
the organizational changes I wanted to make in the department. I explained my 
plan to create a community services division and assign a patrol officer as a 
full-time community resource officer. I hoped that by changing the 
organization structure the community would be encouraged to see that the 
police department was moving in a somewhat different, improved, and non-
traditional direction.

Shah:
03.15   It sounds like you guys had a lot of great discussions during that 
first meeting. What are some of the public safety benefits of working so 
closely with a community-based organization, or CBO, for short?

Kyes:
03.26   Well, any police chief or high-ranking law enforcement official that 
thinks that he or she can solve the community's major crime problems by 
themselves is foolhardy. The fact is, it's absolutely essential for police 
departments to partner with reputable and trusted CBOs to reduce crime and 
fear of crime. CBOs can give us a more accurate sense of the overall 
priorities of the community. They can also help disseminate information from 
the police department to the community.

Shah:
03.50   And does this hold true with communities that have large numbers of 
immigrants?

Kyes:
03.53   Yes, absolutely. In diverse immigrant communities, CBOs act as an 
extremely efficient conduit for communicating information to and from these 
groups. In certain emergencies, I've found that members of some immigrant 
communities will often reach out to the CBO first and might never go to the 
police for fear that the agency has some type of ulterior motive. But when 
the CBOs and the departments are successfully working together on issues that 
are important to the community, that changes the environment or perspective 
completely. Community members might still go to the CBO first, but the agency 
and the individual are able to come to us to report crime because they trust 
we will handle their specific issue or concern appropriately. That only seems 
to make the community much safer.

Shah:
04.34   What you said makes sense in terms of the power of partnering with 
the CBO. So, now let's talk about partnering with the CBO when you're dealing 
with a hot button or sensitive issue.

This is one that regularly appears in the media is that of immigration 
enforcement. We know that you co-authored an article with Gladys Vega on this 
topic. How did that opportunity come about?

Kyes:
04.56   This is a great question, Susan. Gladys actually approached me with 
the idea to co-draft a letter with her on regards to the federal Secure 
Communities Program and the potential threat that it posed to a community 
like the city of Chelsea, particularly in concern to police-community 
relations. The letter was an op-ed piece that appeared in a June 2011 issue 
of the Boston Globe.

Admittedly, and Gladys will tell you, I was a bit hesitant to be so involved 
with my public views. Initially, I was concerned that the potential backlash 
that I would receive from other law enforcement officials across the state 
who weren't involved in policing in a diverse setting and therefore thought 
Secure Communities was a great idea. That said, she convinced me that it was 
for the great good of our community to stand united on this extremely 
controversial issue.

Though I was attacked in the Boston radio and in some police union 
publications, I firmly believe that Gladys and I, and our respective 
organizations, gained significant trust from the community that we serve as a 
result of this stance. To get beat up a bit in the short run in order to take 
a stance for something I truly believe in, I think only bolstered our 
credibility in the community for years to come. I am grateful she gave me an 
opportunity to join her in this important piece.

Shah:
06.01   That's a great example of collaboration and support. What advice 
would you give to other police executives that are considering a partnership 
with a community organization in dealing with sensitive or hot button, 
difficult issues?

Kyes:
06.14   I'd advise law enforcement agencies to find some common ground with 
their CBOs on any hot button issue that may develop in their respective 
communities. While there may be some differences of opinion on some elements 
of the issue, so long as the two (or more, if there are multiple CBOs) can 
come to work together to address the main themes of the issue, the community 
as a whole will surely benefit.

I think it's always wiser to move in a positive direction as a group or team 
than to work alone. There's strength in numbers and people tend to believe 
and trust organizations that have a unified front. The fact is, CBOs have an 
enormous influence over their constituents. It makes perfect sense for law 
enforcement to engage in meaningful partnerships with local CBOs to garner 
their support and work as one united group to build strong communities, 
reduce crime, and improve the overall quality of life for all.

Shah:
07.01   Well said, Chief. Thank you very much for sharing your experiences 
with us today.

Kyes:
07.04   You're welcome, Susan.

Voiceover:
07.09  The Beat was brought to you by the United States Department of Justice 
COPS Office. The COPS Office helps to keep our nation’s communities safe by 
giving grants to law enforcement agencies, developing community policing 
publications, developing partnerships, and solving problems. 








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