Like many cities during the summer of 2020, Columbus experienced protests that at times led to clashes between marchers and law enforcement. These clashes fractured relationships, deepened divides between police and the communities they serve, and laid bare the need for a new kind of leadership and vision within our Division of Police. This crisis point offered the city an opportunity to rethink the way we police, and with that, rebuild community trust as we move forward and continue to experience the type of growing pains inherent with rapid population growth and government systems that aren’t adapting at the same pace.

In the wake of the protests, the city hired a new chief of police and leadership team, reformed our protest response protocols, and implemented heightened accountability measures for our officers. And while we made these important changes, we still had to do more to improve trust and relationships at the neighborhood level. That’s why the City Attorney’s Office, Division of Police, and Franklin University partnered together to create Community Immersion, a first-of-its-kind program that combines classroom and field experiences for probationary officers (those who just graduated the academy) to be immersed in the communities they will be patrolling.

During the 192-hour Immersion Program, officers meet area leaders, work with service providers, and learn the history and unique challenges facing neighborhoods so that when they encounter an issue in the field, they have a better understanding of how to respond. In addition to the standardized curriculum designed in partnership with Franklin University, officers within Community Immersion also complete a capstone project where they identify a community need, develop a plan to address it, and execute the plan. Examples of capstone projects run from holiday toy drives and car seat installations to Narcan training and basketball camps for neighborhood kids.

In a fast-growing city where the majority of recruits now live outside the city limits, these immersive experiences are more important now than ever before. To date, 10 recruit classes and more than 400 officers have participated in Community Immersion. Data compiled by Franklin University has shown that since Community Immersion began, both officer complaints and use-of-force incidents have decreased, which shows the impact this program is having at the grassroots level, where officers are more engaged, understanding and able to react to situations in the areas they patrol.

This program continues to expand and serve as an innovative model to improve community-police relations, especially for cities in fast-growing metro areas with agencies pulling recruits from outside city limits.

Impact or how it will be measured:

In creating the program alongside the Division of Police, our office partnered with Columbus’ Franklin University Public Safety Programs Director Dr. Chenelle Jones to measure impact and trends. 10 recruit classes and more than 400 officers have participated in Immersion, and since Community Immersion began, both officer complaints and use-of-force incidents have decreased and knowledge program participants have about the Columbus community has increased.