ASHLAND PD AND ASHLAND CULTURE OF PEACE LAUNCH PEACE OFFICER INITIATIVE

News Release from Ashland Police Dept.
Posted: May 7th, 2019 9:20 AM

The Ashland Police Department in conjunction with the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ACPC) will introduce patrol vehicles with an updated design which include the wording “PEACE OFFICER” for its entire fleet. 

Mayor John Stromberg, Police Chief Tighe O’Meara and ACPC Executive Director David Wick will unveil the specially-designed police vehicles at 11 a.m. on May 8, 2019 at the Ashland Police Department, 1155 East Main St, Ashland, Oregon, in the public parking lot. 

Chief O’Meara and the entire APD team have been working toward developing stronger community partnerships and view this as another move forward in those attempts. 
 
ACPC Executive Director David Wick said, “This action by Chief O'Meara and the Ashland Police Department is an important step in Ashland's evolution as a City of Peace and embodies direct support for a Culture of Peace. This is also a step of leadership and pride as the APD is the first police department in Oregon to be designated as Peace Officers in this way."   

Going forward all of APD’s marked patrol vehicles will have the words “PEACE OFFICER” affixed to them in addition to the current decals. It is the department’s hope, as well as ACPC’s that the additional decals will further demonstrate to the community that Ashland police officers are here not just to enforce laws, but to partner with all members of the community and to build lasting relationships and enhance safety for all. 

Research to evaluate the impact of this initiative on the police and community is also being conducted by an independent research collaboration of New York University (NYU) and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) called BetaGov. BetaGov is an interdisciplinary research team which provides rapid-cycle innovation and testing support to government agencies at no cost.   

The change was inspired and funded by Police2Peace, a national charitable initiative to improve public trust in communities across the country. Police2Peace supports programs to add decals to the existing markings on public safety vehicles which read “PEACE OFFICER”.      

The Police2Peace program, “PEACE OFFICER” designation and all accompanying research is provided at no cost to the City of Ashland.  Support for the Police2Peace program includes a grant from the Schaina and Josephina Lurje Memorial Foundation.  Police2Peace is a fiscally sponsored project of the Peace Development Fund.

Contact Info, for media use only:
Chief Tighe O'Meara 541-552-2142