The program supported by Target celebrates its fifth year recognizing and supporting cities’ equitable policing efforts

TAMPA, Florida — Today, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and Target announced the winners of this year’s Police Reform and Equitable Justice Grant Program, now in its fifth year. Since 2020, the program serves to recognize and strengthen cities’ initiatives, policies and programs that promote justice for all residents through thoughtful policing and community engagement.

This year, judges have again selected one winner in each of three city population categories: large (over 300,000), mid-size (100,000 – 300,000), and small (under 100,000).

The three winning cities share in a total of $350,000 in grant funds. Grant winners this year are:

  • Large City: Cincinnati (OH), for its Crisis Receiving Center (CRC) that offers an alternative to both arrest and the emergency room, focusing on providing an immediate therapeutic “low trauma” response/intensive engagement and connection to ongoing support and services.
  • Mid-Size City: Kent (WA), for its Community Immersion Law Enforcement Program (CILEP), an internship aimed at building trust between the police department and the community it serves by embedding new police recruits in local non-profit organizations before they attend the police academy.
  • Small City: Vicksburg (MS), for its Vicksburg and Warren County Youth Development Center that is dedicated to tackling the root causes of poverty, substance abuse, and crime among youth, by identifying their immediate needs and connect them with the appropriate services.

Three additional cities, one in each population category, also were recognized by the program’s judges for honorable mention:

  • Large City: Newark (NJ), for its Newark Police Explorers Program that provides youth between the ages of 14 and 21 with hands-on exposure to law enforcement careers, to increase self-confidence, career motivation and strengthen their sense of connection to the city.
  • Mid-Size City: Chattanooga (TN), for its Crisis Co-Response Unit (CCRU) of the Chattanooga Police Department, an umbrella program that partners law enforcement and community workers to create a network of support for individuals struggling with mental health issues in the city.
  • Small City: Lima (OH), for its City of Lima Nondiscrimination Policy that is working to make resources more accessible for residents new to the city, through translation services, community engagement to foster integration and training for city employees.

“Target is proud to partner with the U.S. Conference of Mayors in support of the Police Reform and Equitable Justice Grant,” said Isaac Reyes, Target’s Senior Vice President Government Affairs. “This initiative aims to identify, support, and promote police policies and practices in cities that have been shown to be most effective in advancing the goal of justice for all.”

“We are proud to partner with Target to provide support for these worthy programs, as we have done for more than a dozen cities over the last five years,” said Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “Trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve is essential to providing the safety and security that every person deserves. These cities and their mayors are leading the way to a brighter, more equitable future for all.”

Summary descriptions of the winning programs follow below.

Learn more about the partnership between Target and USCM, and the Police Reform and Equitable Justice Grant program, in the program’s request for applications here.

Police Reform and Racial Justice Grant Winners

Large City: Cincinnati (OH) — Crisis Receiving Center (CRC)

Cincinnati is looking to enhance its Crisis Receiving Center (CRC), which offers an alternative to both arrest and the emergency room. The Center is focused on both providing an immediate therapeutic “low trauma” response,intensive engagement and connection to ongoing support and services. CRC will provide up to 23 hours of assessment, monitoring support and engagement. In a small calming environment up to 12 individuals will find a place to rest, with food, showers, medications and peer support. The Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) along with other partners will work together to ensure that all clients are offered immediate connection to needed resources including care management, outpatient treatment and residential treatment prior to leaving the program. Currently the CPD  provides an officer to ensure the safety of all patients and personnel at the center. With funding it looks to increase the capacity of CPD to provide 24-hour support to the initiative. The officer would ensure the safety and security of all individuals on site, provide rapid response to emergent situations, support the CRC mission by allowing staff to focus on delivering quality care and strengthen the collaboration between law enforcement, mental health professionals, and community stakeholders. A look at quantitative statistics related to a comparison of incidents pre and post police officer detail shows a 24% decrease in total Client Altercations, a 52% decrease in Client Altercations per year, a 36.65% decrease in total Psychiatric Holds and a 60.87% decrease in Psychiatric Holds per year.

Mid-Size City: Kent (WA) — Community Immersion Law Enforcement Program (CILEP)

The Community Immersion Law Enforcement Program (CILEP) is a pre-academy internship for newly hired police recruits at the City of Kent Police Department. The stated goal is to build trust between the Kent Police Department and the community it serves by embedding Kent Police recruits in local non-profit organizations for 40 hours per week over 8 weeks before they attend the police academy. Many officers do not reside in the communities they police, leading to a lack of real-life experience and engagement with people of color. This cultural gap has contributed to erosion of public trust and strained police-community relationships in their city.

The $100,000 grant will be used to: 1. Expand mentorship training for community leaders guiding recruits; 2. Support additional community-based organizations (CBOs) as program partners; 3. Develop new assessment tools to measure long-term community impact; 4. Promote recruitment efforts to increase program awareness and participation; 5. Enhance structured learning materials for recruits, including cultural competency modules; 6. Achieve statewide and national expansion by creating a “how to” guide/toolkit to build a CILEP program and speaking to law enforcement and stakeholders in other jurisdictions about how to replicate the program. Since its conceptualization in late 2020 and implementation in the summer of 2021, CILEP has grown substantially. In its pilot year, 19 pre-academy recruits completed the program, working with refugees, asylees, and immigrant communities. To date, 56 police officers have completed the ongoing program.

Small City: Vicksburg (MS) — Vicksburg and Warren County Youth Development Center

The Vicksburg and Warren County Youth Development Center (VWCYDC) was formed in response to the deep generational poverty in Vicksburg that created significant barriers to student success, often leading to crime and violence in youth. The staff is dedicated to tackling the root causes of poverty, substance abuse, mental health issues, and crime among youth, focusing on one child at a time. During intake sessions, staff assess all aspects of a child’s life to identify immediate needs and connect them with mentoring, tutoring, therapy, and student-led events. The Center employs a full-time police officer funded by the VPD, who collaborates with the Police Station, Youth Court, and VWCYDC to build relationships with students and their families. Over the past 19 months, the VWCYDC has served 208 children through face-to-face appointments, with 84 students receiving tutoring and/or mentoring vouchers weekly or bi-weekly. Ninety percent of those served are African American. Police Chief Jones plans to use the funds from this award for tutoring and mentoring vouchers for three more years.