Kinston Police, citizens, organizations form Community Relations Team
Press Release: Kinston Police, citizens, organizations form Community Relations Team
On Thursday, February 23rd, Kinston Police Chief Alonzo Jaynes alongside citizens and coalition partners will announce the formation of the Kinston Community Relations Team. Chief Jaynes and other team members will be accepting questions from media outlets and the community.
The Kinston Community Relations Team is an independent citizen group whose mission is to serve as a liaison between our local law enforcement and the community, as a means to build trust, strengthen relationships and promote positive opportunities for engagement. Organized in December of 2016 by Kinston Police Chief Alonzo Jaynes and various members of the Kinston community, the team has tasked itself with building and strengthening relations between the community and the Kinston Police Department.
The objectives of the team are:
- To promote awareness to the community of the professionalization and operation of the Kinston Police Department.
- To build and strengthen public cooperation with the police department through positive communication and mutual understanding.
- To promote increased cooperation between the police department and schools, churches and other community organizations.
- To serve as a liaison between the Kinston Police Department and the community.
- To assist the Kinston Police Department in the education of all citizens in how to reduce opportunities for crime to occur.
- To amicably resolve issues and complaints as an intermediary group between the Kinston Police Department and citizens of Kinston.
The Kinston Community Relations Team plans to achieve its mission through the following programs:
- Community Events & Initiatives – The Kinston Community Relations Team will coordinate between the Kinston Police Department and various community organizations to create, promote and increase the awareness of events and initiatives that support crime prevention and citizen engagement.
- Community Liaison – The Kinston Community Relations Team will receive ideas, complaints and citizen comments regarding the Kinston Police Department through our Citizen Response Form, and work with the submitter and the Department to amicably resolve issues and develop positive solutions for the parties involved.
- Citizen Advisory – As a citizen group not under the umbrella of the Kinston Police Department, the Kinston Community Relations Team will provide independent review and advisory of Department programs and actions to ensure that the actions are most appropriate and beneficial to the Kinston community.
The Kinston Community Relations Team is currently composed of twenty (20) members of the Kinston community from various backgrounds and walks of life. Represented on the team are youth, clergy, civic organizations, teachers, business leaders and law enforcement officers.