Illinois police work to improve community relations

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WRSP) — Police across the state and the NAACP are working to bridge the gap of mistrust between police and minorities.

A resolution was signed Thursday by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the Illinois NAACP State Conference.

"This is great Abraham Lincoln's hometown, but we want to make race relations better," Illinois NAACP State Conference President Teresa Haley said. "It starts with communication and it starts by being open and totally honest with one another about our fears and our beliefs."

The initiative is four years in the making.

In that time, the two groups met eight times and developed a set of guidelines to work together to grow trust, improve relationships and keep communities safe.

The shared principles include endorsing community policing, replacing mistrust with mutual trust, and committing to de-escalation training.

"Should we give people a voice?” Springfield Police Chief Kenny Winslow said. “Should we be transparent? Should we be out there practicing community policing? These are all things that we've been trying to do. Should we value life? We all value life. Everybody values life. So really when you look at all these things, it's nothing that is out of the norm."

The leaders said there isn't any other statewide resolution in the nation that compares to this.

Illinois NAACP President Teresa Haley hopes the idea expands to other states.