Published by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), this article spotlights the Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability (VALOR) Safer Together training program, an initiative aimed at building positive partnerships between police officers and the communities they serve to reduce crime and ensure safety and wellness for all. Community safety doesn’t start with a traffic stop – it begins with building trust. That’s just one of the lessons Lieutenant James Jefferson III of the Louisiana State Police learned from the VALOR Safer Together training program. There are three trainings available: frontline officer training, a command level training, and an executive briefing. Lieutenant Jefferson attended the eight hour training course for frontline officers which stresses building trust, one interaction at a time, as a foundational basis to improve community climate, reduce crime and boost officer well-being. The article describes more about the training and its importance, as well as Lieutenant Jefferson’s takeaways after attending this training.
Building Trust One Traffic Stop at a Time
