Community Based Policing

On October 1, 2009, Conversations with American Heroes at the Watering Hole will feature a discussion with former San Francisco Police Department Detective Linda Flanders on Community Based Policing. Community based policing is one of the requirements for the new stimulus grants; the importance of getting all areas of a community on board and collaborating to solve their own problems. It's perfectly clear that law enforcement cannot do it alone. The question remains: "How do we do this"? As an example, we can do it through the development of a unique community-based Media Arts program that is designed specifically as a developmental and educational tool; one that captures the attention of kids and parents. It's one of the Midwest's most promising new programs; offering prevention and intervention, workforce skills and community activism. Law enforcement simply gets the ball rolling.In the 1970s, Linda Flanders was the first female police officer to join the Mill Valley police Department (California). By 1980, she had moved across the bay and joined the San Francisco Police Department. During her career she was promoted to the rank of Inspector and trained as a Child Interview Specialist. Linda Flanders worked for several years in the Juvenile Division’s Child Sexual Assault Detail. Linda Flanders has a degree in Criminal Justice and became a Movement Education Teacher in 1991. Since 1999, she has worked as an independent educational filmmaker and, co-developed the “The Movie Making Process©” as a learning and teaching tool for today’s kids. Using a mix of art education, pop-culture and digital technology the process has developed into the 21st Century Prevention Program. The original work, “The Movie Making Process”© was recently nominated by the State of Wisconsin as their “Most Promising Prevention Program”.