The president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce is calling for law enforcement agencies to go back to the days of “community policing” where officers focus on problem solving and developing strong bonds with the communities they serve.  

Jerry Sanders, who is also the former police chief and mayor of San Diego, says today’s military model of “stop and frisk” and “zero tolerance” that became popularized in the 2000s is failing. 

In a recent opinion piece for the San Diego Union-Tribune, Sanders said it’s time for reforms in police tactics and training. Sanders said he was “disgusted” by the police violence witnessed by Americans over the past six weeks. 

Among the most shocking were the deaths of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, and George Floyd in Minneapolis, he said. Peaceful protests over those deaths were then “upended by bad police tactics and in some cases, brutality.”  

He said that it’s time for police agencies to institute the community-based model. 

“Police need to stop pretext stops and the overuse of stop and frisk. We need all police, every single one, to be decent, respectful, analytic and impartial. That is the only way that policing, which relies on trust, can be effective,” Sanders wrote.

Proven policing strategies  

As police chief from 1993 to 1999, Sanders instituted a community policing model that received national accolades when overall crime dropped 40 percent during that time. Homicides went from 165 a year to 42.  

Sanders recently shared his thoughts with 91ֱ�� about proven strategies for community policing.

Here are his key takeaways:

Demilitarize the police academy  

The most important step is to move police training academies away from the military model.

“Police officers are like football players and basketball players. You play like you train.” 

When officers go out in the community, 90 percent of what they do is discretionary. It’s not like being in the military. 

“The academy is not a boot camp and it shouldn’t be a boot camp.”

More training in problem solving 

Training should emphasize problem solving, critical thinking and de-escalation strategies.

Police also need to have an understanding of the historical context of policing in poor and racially and ethnically diverse communities. 

Policies should be community and citizen-directed 

Successful community policing uses a “bottom up” approach where police officers are directed by citizens’ wants and needs. 

Police are not social workers 

There needs to be a rethinking about the role of police officers and what they are qualified to do.

Law enforcement officers are not specially trained and licensed in treating substance abuse and mental illness or responding to school truancy or student behavior issues. Yet, they often are confronted with these populations.

“Officers are tasked with solving homelessness though they are not mental health workers or substance abuse providers. Being homeless is not against the law; it is a public health issue and public health officials should lead the response.” 

Arizona’s biggest city enacts police reforms 

As tensions have risen across the nation, many police departments and cities in Arizona are reevaluating their policies and taking action including Phoenix.

Police Chief Jeri Williams, who is Black and the first female to serve as chief, has announced a number of changes, including the elimination of the use and training in the Carotid Control Technique.

The police academy also is modernizing training to emphasize communication skills, empathy, and stress management, she stated last month. 

“We can’t function as a department without the trust of our community and there are adjustments we can make to strengthen that trust,” Williams said.  “We pride ourselves on being an organization willing to learn and evolve, to listen to our community and become better. I am confident this moves us closer to that goal.”

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Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, has been named to serve on a national steering committee for a U.S. Chamber of Commerce initiative to improve economic equity and opportunity for people of color. 

The goal is to engage hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses, chambers and trade associations to help make it happen. 

With Minneapolis police officers now charged with the murder of George Floyd, America needs to use this as the turning point, he said. 

“We all have much to learn from the senseless killing of George Floyd and this moment in the nation’s history—I know I do,” Hamer said. “I welcome this appointment as someone who doesn’t have all the answers, but who has a real desire to ensure that all Americans have access to an even playing field and a future defined by hope and opportunity.”

The U.S. Chamber unveiled the last week in the midst of national outrage as a video went viral showing Floyd’s murder at the hands of four police officers on Memorial Day.

Call to the business community to take action 

The goal of the initiative is to engage hundreds, if not thousands, of chambers, trade associations and companies to participate and improve racial equity in their communities, Hamer said. 

He said, as a Jewish ‘kid’ from the Bronx, he was honored and humbled to be chosen for the committee. 

“The opportunities offered by this country should be open and available to all Americans, not just some,” he said.

Employment rates tell the story 

As part of the effort, the U.S. Chamber, representing more than 3 million businesses, will also promote policy at all levels of government to help effect change. 

The initiative will focus on four areas: education, employment, entrepreneurship, and criminal justice reform. 

The numbers show the need for a renewed effort, said Suzanne Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber in a statement announcing the initiative last week. 

The unemployment rate is historically about twice as high for black Americans as for white.

“The combined impacts of the pandemic and economic crises have disproportionately hit disadvantaged communities, making this problem worse,” Clark said. “The chamber believes that the moral case for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace is indisputable, and there’s overwhelming evidence that greater diversity benefits the American economy, businesses, communities and employees.”

Other programs to improve racial opportunity

The national initiative builds on other programs that U.S. Chamber has initiated or supports including:

-The U.S. Chamber Foundation’s that works to move students of color into high demand careers. 

-Partnering with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation on the that emphasizes the positive economic aspects of racial justice and higher employment,  like meaningful increases in consumer spending; federal, state, and local tax revenues; and decreases in social services spending and health-related costs.

-The , a collaboration with black colleges and universities to develop diverse business leaders by exposing students to new career opportunities and entrepreneurship, and encourage knowledge sharing among academics, business leaders, and trade associations.

Steering committee members from different industries, regions

In Hamer’s appointment to the steering committee, he joins five other business and chamber executives from different industries and geographies: 

-John Harmon, founder, president, and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey

-Susan Neely, president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers

-Vincent B. Orange, Sr., president and CEO of the DC Chamber of Commerce

-Carlos Phillips, president and CEO of the Greenville (South Carolina) Chamber of Commerce

-Matt Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation

Hamer also chairs the U.S. Chamber’s Commerce Committee of 100, a group of chamber executives that represent the perspectives and needs of chambers and their members to the national body.

As the president of the Arizona Chamber, Hamer has taken an international role in promoting Arizona to have strong relationships with trade and intellectual partner countries like Canada, China, Israel, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. 

For more information about the Arizona Chamber, go to: .For more information about the U.S. Chamber, go to: .

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