Today, the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and its partners, announced a first round of support from the Community Policing Innovations Initiative totaling $200,000 to provide support for local public safety departments to work with their communities to address issues in police practices, systems and services. Launched in early 2021 and committed to police reform in southeast
Michigan, the Initiative was established with support from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Hudson-Webber Foundation, Ballmer Group and Oakland County.
“To catalyze local investment and respond to local needs, the Community Foundation and the Hudson-Webber Foundation came together to establish the Community Policing Innovations Initiative,” said Mariam Noland, President, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. “We are pleased that Ballmer Group and Oakland County have also made substantial contributions to support this Initiative,
which provides technical assistance tailored to each community based on their specific needs. Our goal is that the first communities receiving support can serve as examples to others in southeast Michigan and beyond.”
The goal for the Initiative is to provide the guidance and support necessary for local communities in partnership with local law enforcement, to develop community-driven, substantive, and pragmatic changes in the way that policing and public safety services are provided.
The Community Policing Innovations Initiative is chaired by Barbara McQuade, Professor, University of Michigan Law School and former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. She also serves on the boards of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and Hudson-Webber Foundation. 2
“A strong relationship and trust between public law enforcement and the communities they serve is critical,” said McQuade. “The communities and police departments in this pilot phase were selected because of their eagerness and commitment to embrace change and reform efforts.”
Organizations selected for this pilot phase include:
• Canton Township Police Department and Canton Coalition for Inclusive Communities (CCIS)
• City of Detroit/ Detroit Police Department
• East Downtown Dearborn Development Authority and Black Legacy Advancement Coalition
(BLAC)
• Inkster Police Department
• Beloved Community Initiative and First AME Church of Farmington Hills
The programs that are supported through the Initiative will focus on one of five discrete areas: use
of force, officer accountability, disparate enforcement and treatment, re-imagining public safety, and
truth & reconciliation.
Applications for the second round of investments of the Community Policing Innovations Initiative
are now being accepted. For more information on the Initiative, please visit cfsem.org/innovativepolicing.
For more information, visit www.cfsem.org and www.hudson-webber.org.
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