Arlington police chief talks with Obama at White House about community policing

ARLINGTON – Police Chief Jonathan Ventura of Arlington participated recently in some of President Barack Obama’s meetings at the White House on modern policing.

ARLINGTON – Police Chief Jonathan Ventura of Arlington participated recently in some of President Barack Obama’s meetings at the White House on modern policing.

“It was a tremendous honor for me to attend these briefings and represent the city and the men and women of the Arlington Police Department,” Ventura said.

Obama has been talking with police from across the country. The meetings focused on police-minority relations in response to protests nationwide and the recent targeted attacks on police.

The briefings were the third in a serious to bring police leaders together to implement recommendations listed in the White House Task Force Report on 21st Century Policing. Ventura was one of two chiefs from Washington state and 75 total.

The recommendations of the task force were submitted in May of 2015 and are organized around six guiding “pillars”: Building trust and legitimacy, policy and oversight, technology and social media, community policing and crime reduction, training and education, and officer wellness and safety.

Ventura said Arlington is already using many of those recommendations, thanks to its community engagement through the “All-In” program.

“We are always seeking new concepts to improve the services we provide and our level of community engagement,” he said.

The briefings also provided law enforcement an opportunity to provide feedback to the Obama and senior administration as to what support they believe is needed from the federal level.

“My goal was to encourage the president to support federal funding towards programs that take a comprehensive look at community-based initiatives addressing core issues such as low barrier housing for the homeless, as well as mental health and addiction treatment facilities and programs,” Ventura said.

The final task force report is available online at www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/taskforce_finalreport.pdf.