With funding from the sponsors of the Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowships in Public Policy.
Alexa Daniels-Shpall is a Police Special Investigator at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Office of the Inspector General. As a member of the Use of Force section, she has authored several public reports on the LAPD’s policing practices and use of force, which have resulted in significant changes in department-wide policies and procedures. These reports have covered topics such as “suicide-by-cop” incidents, less-lethal force options, and a comparison of use of force policies, investigations, and training at five U.S. law enforcement agencies (including the LAPD). Additionally, Alexa drafted the LAPD’s policy for releasing video from critical incidents to the public, and she is also responsible for monitoring and providing input on the development and implementation of LAPD training.
Alexa is hosted on her Axford Fellowship by Independent Police Conduct Authority and New Zealand Police.
Prior to joining the LAPD, Alexa worked as a Special Investigator at the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Office of the Independent Assessor where she wrote public reports on the LAFD’s employment-related litigation, risk management practices, and disciplinary system. Alexa is an attorney and holds both a Juris Doctor and Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Southern California, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
While a majority of the New Zealand public has trust in the police, the New Zealand Police (Police) is working to increase its trust and confidence to 90 per cent by the year 2021. To reach this target, Police must work to improve its relationships with those communities that have lower levels of trust. One important approach to building (and keeping) trust within these communities is being responsive to their needs. Police’s strategy, in this regard, involves working externally with community stakeholders, and also working internally to ensure that external work is carried out effectively. External efforts include creating mechanisms for incorporating the community’s perspective in Police operations, and fostering partnerships with community and governmental service providers to achieve better outcomes for people in the community. Internal efforts include adopting a strategic vision, goals and organizational structure to guide these efforts, and investing in preparing staff to work effectively with diverse communities. In addition to describing examples of these efforts, this report provides some observations and analysis of the strengths and areas for improvement presented by the examples.
Download the full report in PDF format here: Strategies for (Re)Building Community Trust: A Review of Practices in the New Zealand Police – prepared by Alexa Daniels-Shpall.