Applications are open for a new community advisory panel with the Boise Police Department. The idea is to build trust between the police and the people they serve.
Boise Police Chief Bill Bones has wanted to create a panel of citizen advisers for a few years now; he sees it as the next step in continuing his focus on community policing.
“What I want is that spectrum of all parts of our community," the chief says, "because we’re here to serve every piece of our community.”
Community policing involves officers stationed in different neighborhoods who build relationships with the residents they serve.
Bones says the 12-person group is needed as Boise grows and more and more people come into contact with the department. He says he wants that contact to be positive.
“I believe that trust and transparency are key to the success of a police department. And creating a group that’s going to have this much insight, and some help in directing the department, I really believe grows that bridge of trust with the community we serve.”
Applications and nominations for the two-year position on the panel are open, and the police chief hopes to launch the initiative in two months.
Find reporter Frankie Barnhill on Twitter @FABarnhill
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