Bartlesville Police Chief Tracy Roles recently reached out to leaders of several local groups, including the African American, LGBTQ, Asian, Hispanic American and Indian communities, to start talks that Roles hopes will help bridge cultural divides and lead to a better understanding of the challenges faced by the city’s more diverse populations.
Roles, along with Det. Jim Warring, talked with several community leaders during an informal meeting held last week at the police department. The chief, who moved to Bartlesville and took over the post last October, told the group that he believes the better understanding police officers have of the cultural nuances of specific populations and how they might impact interactions with law enforcement, the more efficiently they can assist or offer services.
“For instance, there are some cultures where looking people in the eye is something you don’t do,” Roles said. “But we’re trained to believe that someone who won’t look us in the eye could be lying or have something to hide. Something as simple as that could have a huge impact on how a situation is handled. These are the types of things we need to understand better.”
The meetings are an attempt to open up lines of communication between the community and police but in no way change the way the law or department policies are applied.
“The law is the law. There is no changing that,” Roles said.
The group agreed to meet regularly to further discussions and to ultimately participate in a public forum to address questions from the community.
“At the end of the day, we all want the same things: We all want to feel safe. We want our kids to be safe. And we all deserve that — not just some of us, all of us,” Roles said.
For more information about the department’s diversity outreach effort, contact Warring at jdwarrin@cityofbartlesville.org or 918.338.4050.