Police Response to Enhancing Trust

MEDIA RELEASE
Police Response to Enhancing Trust

Franklin, MA – The Franklin Police Department is pleased to announce that they have
completed a pledge to enhance trust and collaboration between police and the
communities served. The pledge is part of an initiative called the Trust Building
Campaign which was started by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP),
the world’s largest and most influential professional association for police leaders. To
join the Trust Building Campaign, law enforcement agencies must pledge to implement
25 key policies and leading practices within a 36-month period.
Chief Thomas Lynch made the decision to join the Trust Building Campaign as a means
to enhance the trust and partnership the department has with the community.
By completing the Trust Building Campaign Pledge, the Franklin Police Department
established policies and trainings, conducted assessments, and developed strategies
within six focused areas (bias-free policing; use of force; leadership and culture;
recruitment, hiring, and retention; victim services; and community relations) designed to
encourage positive community-police partnerships that promote safe, effective
interactions, create strategies to prevent and reduce crime, and improve the wellbeing and
quality of life for all.
The IACP is encouraged by the efforts of agencies as they incorporate the pledge’s
concepts into their everyday operations. When trust building is prioritized, community
members and the police benefit from relationships focused on unified visions, goals, and
values. Building and rebuilding trust in the community and around the world is critical,
and must remain a primary objective.
The greatest benefit in taking the Trust Building Campaign Pledge has been reinforcing
the policies and procedures that the department has established through the accreditation
process and looking at them through the lens of community trust building and
partnerships.
Chief Lynch states, “I feel the police department has a great relationship with the
community but we are always trying to do better, to do a little more. The Franklin Police
Department is constantly looking for ways to connect with and enhance those

partnerships. The IACP Trust Building Campaign gave us a mechanism to review and
improve our policies, procedures, and training with the goal of increasing the
community’s trust and create additional positive relationships”.

For more information about the Trust Building Campaign, visit the IACP’s website at
https://www.theiacp.org/iacp-trust-building-campaign.