To realize a vision of public safety that respects and protects human life and ensures safety for all, communities and police should work together to advance 21^stcentury best practices. By co-producing public safety, communities and police can develop policies and practices that reflect community values and interests. As we noted at the outset, the public and law enforcement share the same general goal: to live and work in safe communities. Determining the role of police and in achieving that goal is work that needs to be done collaboratively.

By integrating community voices into police policies and practices, developing a shared language to restore trust between departments and communities, and bringing people with diverse perspectives to the decision-making table, communities, law enforcement, and elected officials can coproduce public safety that best serves communities’ interests.

The recommendations outlined in this report aim to provide solutions for working toward this goal. Not all are appropriate for every department or community—the needs may vary between communities large and small; urban, rural, and suburban; homogenous and diverse. But the principles of fairness, equity, procedural justice, legitimacy, transparency, and accountability apply to every department.

It’s important to bear in mind that many of the issues that give rise to problematic policing practices are societal problems that must be dealt with collectively and by imagining solutions that don’t involve the criminal justice system or position police as the answer. In sum, communities, police, and law enforcement can achieve safe, fair, and effective policing, but biases that result in inequitable treatment exist in society at large. Without addressing these issues globally, it is difficult to remedy them alone in policing.

By working together, communities and police can find a common language to articulate a vision for a new era of policing that respects the dignity and humanity of all people.