MovementForward, Inc., an Atlanta organization, has collaborated to create a national organization to improve police-resident relations in communities across the United States. It has chosen 22 urban and suburban sites nationwide to launch the initiative.

Norristown is among them, as reported by Justin Heinze in the Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch.

The cohort, formed in the aftermath of national tension between police officers and everyday citizens, is being called the Law Enforcement Community Engagement Network (LECEN).

It’s a first-of-its-kind initiative.

“For the past several years, we’ve seen significant strains on the relationship between law enforcement and communities …,” said Rev. Markel Hutchins, president and CEO of MovementForward. “Effective law enforcement-community engagement is the key to reducing such appalling incidents.”

Under the program, Norristown police officers will receive special training in trust-building techniques designed to reduce prejudices.

LECEN organizers hope that data culled from the pilot communities — including Norristown — can inform initiatives elsewhere and increase their chances at success.

Norristown Police Department is the only one chosen in the state; the nearest participant to the one from Montgomery County is the Dover Police Department in Delaware.

The full list of participating communities — and additional information on their work  — is at the Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch.

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A TEDx Talk on improving police/community relations.