It’s called 21st Century Policing and it’s a program the Jackson County Sheriff’s office is using to build community trust.
That includes connecting with minorities in the area.
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is implementing education of underrepresented groups in the Rogue Valley community by holding courses at the sheriff’s office.
The Health Care Coalition of Southern Oregon is one group helping with that training.
Jackson County Sheriff Corey Falls wants his department to be on the cutting edge of law enforcement.
That’s why he’s focusing on a program called 21st Century Policing.
It helps deputies deal with topics like racism and implicit bias to ensure the community feels connected to Jackson County enforcement.
“I think we have good relationships here in Jackson County, but I want to maintain those and I want to continue building relationships and looking at things across the country,” Sheriff Falls said.
To maintain those relationships, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has a partnership with Southern Oregon’s Health Equity Coalition (a.k.a. SO HEALTH-E) to help train deputies.
SO HEALTH-E’s goal is to advance health equity by making sure people of all types are receiving fair care and service to meet their needs.
“Diversity in Jackson County and in Oregon is great and we as a coalition do whatever we can to ensure that every single person no matter what they look like or how they identify gets treated fairly wherever they go,” SO HEALTH-E Coordinator Jennifer Ware said.
That includes being treated fairly by deputies, and making sure services at the sheriff’s office are accessible by offering signs and materials in languages the community speaks.
“We don’t choose who calls 911 so when we show up we have to be prepared to be able to respond and appropriately work with all different aspects of our community,” Sheriff Falls said.
Sheriff Falls wants to encourage the community to continue reaching out to them if they have any questions.
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