Charlotte NC July 5 2021

Any effort to bring empathy and sympathy and to humanize police officers beyond the badge is a step in the right direction, Greg Jackson, co-founder of nonprofit Heal Charlotte, said about the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s new customer service-based approach.

Last week, CMPD rolled out its new, $60,000 first-of-a-kind training program called CommUNITY Collaboration.

The department’s 2,500 employees will be taught new communication techniques to use with residents, or “customers,” according to the DiJulius Group, a Cleveland-based national consulting firm CMPD partnered with for this endeavor.

The DiJulius Group has previously worked with Starbucks, Chick-fil-A and Disney.

“My vision is to bring a world-class hospitality culture to policing here in Charlotte-Mecklenburg,” CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said. “Why can’t we look at a customer service base to ensure we are serving our customers in a professional and courteous manner?

You go into Chick-fil-A, the employees are always polite, friendly and the food is consistent. Why can’t we look at that and say we want to provide that customer service to our citizens? When we leave, we give them a good feeling about their interactions with the police as best as we possibly can.”

Although optimistic, Jackson said “not everyone is going to walk away with having that beautiful feeling of Chick-fil-A.”

But he said he gets where Jennings is coming from, especially when it comes to minor traffic interactions.

“When you approach the car, you respect me, you have empathy for me and you want to address me as a human,” Jackson said.

Jackson said a difference between Chick-fil-A and the police is that the fast food restaurant chain has a history of treating its customers well.

Robert Dawkins, activist and state organizer for SAFE Coalition NC, said CMPD did not come to the community for input on this new program before its implementation.

“I’m not saying that it’s bad, but I think unless you talk to the people that you’re going to call a customer, you’re going to get the same result,” he said.

Dawkins also said he’s worried about CMPD’s response rates being dictated by which neighborhood the calling resident lives in, or even their yearly income.

“I’m not a customer, I’m a Charlotte resident, and customer service is always going to be based on how much money you spend with the company,” he said. “If you live in a poor neighborhood off of Beatties Ford Road, I can tell you from the customer service that they get now, they don’t get the same customer service that Ballantyne customers get.”

While skeptical on aspects of the program, Jackson and Dawkins praise Jennings’ transparency and willingness to do things outside of the box.

“At least Jennings is seeing what sticks,” Dawkins said. “Although I wish there was more input, I’m not saying it’s totally bad, because the one thing that we’ve always asked from a chief is to try.”

“He’s been super open to doing innovative stuff,” Jackson said. “I can always appreciate that.”

City Council member Larken Egleston said all city departments should take a customer service approach.

“Whether it’s the police department, 311, solid waste or whoever, this ought to be the mindset of everybody at the city from elected officials down across every department,” he said.

Egleston said this effort is more led by Jennings, but it’s “certainly supported by council.”

Charlotte Observer

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