There's no question in my mind that racism in police departments is a very important issue, but it is only one of many causes of police misconduct. In Internet discussions, I find that people are often too quick to blame others for problems, and too slow to offer solutions to those problems.

Even police officers who have some racist elements in their thinking and background, are not necessarily unredeemably horrible people. Indeed, many of them follow the rules and do what they're supposed to do, even though they may not particularly like people of other races. Once they've had favorable contacts with people of other races, their racism often melts away quickly.

I'm on the board of a community organizing group called Placer People of Faith Together, a member of the PICO National Network. Over the last five years, we have worked closely with the Hispanic community in our county. Most of our county is rural or small towns, but we do have one city, Roseville, a suburb of Sacramento with a population of 128,000. Roseville has the full spectrum of urban problems, including a police department with some history of racism. A couple of years ago, Roseville hired its first nonwhite police chief, a black man who had been a shining star in the Sacramento Police Department. The guy is a pro, and he looks like a movie star. On top of that, he's just a really nice person. But the Hispanics have had a tough time in Roseville, and they weren't sure whether they could trust this new police chief, even though he comes from a racial minority.

Recently, California passed a law allowing undocumented immigrants to get California drivers' licenses. We and the Roseville Police Department wanted to get licenses for as many people as possible, so we wanted to offer training so people could pass the exam. The logical place to offer training was the police department, but we were afraid that people wouldn't trust the police enough to go to their headquarters for classes. So, we decided to have a series of open houses at the police department, with bilingual tour guides, refreshments, and a party atmosphere. People loved the tours, and then they flocked to the police department for the classes. And police-community relations improved quickly. On top of that, lots of Hispanic immigrants are very proud bearers of California Drivers' Licenses.

If we want to improve things, we have to do it with imagination and an open heart. I suppose there's a place for confrontation and litigation - but I think it's essential that we try positive approaches first, and use confrontation and litigation as a last resort.

-Joe-