National Black Police Assoc. Hosts Conference

SACRAMENTO, CA - The National Black Police Association (NBPA) is hosting its 38th annual conference in Sacramento, California, now through Saturday August 21st. The theme of this year’s conference is “police and community working together for justice.”

Conference materials describe the mission and goals of the NBPA. “For 38 years, NBPA has led the vanguard in bridging the gaps - both real and perceptual - between Black America and the police - as an institution - through mutual respect, cooperation, and positive interaction.

“Community policing is essential for developing partnerships between law enforcement and the people that they serve and protect,” said Ron Hampton, executive director of the National Black Police Association. “Reducing racial disparities in the criminal justice system will go a long way toward building trust.”

Staff from the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) will be attending the conference and are co-sponsoring a lunch discussion with the NBPA. The panel is titled: “Michele Alexander’s The New Jim Crow: A Call to Action. The panel is inspired by Ms. Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The thought-provoking conversation will look at the drug war, mass incarceration and the impact of these policies on black communities.

A panel with DPA participation is on Thursday, August 19th from 9:00- 12:00 titled Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice. The panelists include: Neil Franklin (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition), Alice Huffman (NAACPCA), Deborah Small (Break the Chains) and Jasmine Tyler (DPA).

“The war on drugs, mass incarceration, violence due to drug prohibition, and how we deal with drug use in our society are some of the most important issues of the day,” said Jasmine Tyler of the Drug Policy Alliance. “We appreciate the opportunity to meet, discuss and come up with solutions with law enforcement, who are among those who on are on the front lines of these issues every day.”