One-on-One with Little Rock’s New Police Chief

Since the incidents in Ferguson, Los Angeles, and other cities where an unarmed Black man was shot and killed by police, communities and police departments have made efforts to settle their issues of longstanding suspicion. One of the more promising campaigns is being led by Missouri State Trooper, Captain Ron Johnson, who was placed in charge of security in Ferguson after the shooting of Michael Brown.

Little Rock’s new police chief, Kenton T. Buckner, is committed to bridging the gap between communities and the police.  Buckner, 45, is Little Rock’s second Black chief. The former Louisville, Kentucky chief of police, became Little Rock’s law enforcement leader on May 28.

TheVillageCelebration interviewed Buckner about eliminating the root causes of crime, the importance of being proactive, and creating a bond between communities and police.

TVC: Do you think increased focus on ending the root causes of crime — unemployment, homelessness, inadequate education, and bad living conditions in low income neighborhoods — would lead to a decrease in crime? Why or Why not?

Chief Buckner: I think that you are touching at the core of those common threads that make up the socioeconomic cocktail that produces the symptoms of poverty, and in most instances that relates to crime. I think anytime you delve into “root cause issues” relating to crime…with the specific examples you gave…those give you an opportunity for long-term success because in many instances the education system,  [or] the criminal justice system, [is asked] to deal with those issues that relates to the symptoms. We very seldom have conversations or efforts toward root causes.

I think some of the examples you gave are the perfect examples of the [areas] where we need to put our energy and our resources.

TVC: You have met people in various neighborhoods throughout the city who told you what they felt should be done about decreasing crime. How important is it for the residents to be proactive — for instance, create neighborhood watch programs as in the past — and work together with the police?

Chief Buckner: That partnership is what I would consider to be the most important relationship for the police department, and that is with the community. That is, in my definition — the definition of community policing — is the community and police engaged in problem solving. And, that is probably the foundation [as to] whether or not, the police are going to be successful.

For a city like Little Rock, we should have 193,000 or 196,000 people engaged with their eyes and ears in helping us with that first line of defense for public safety. The best cliché [for that] is if you see something say something, and get involved. Find some kind of initiative as it relates to nonprofit, mentoring, and things through your church. [When you see] a lot of these do-good organizations in any community that has a significant percentage of people who are invested in those kinds of efforts — that is when you begin to see the needle move.

TVC: How important is it for the community and police to create a bond in order to relate with each other on a personal level?

Chief Buckner:  I think this is the genesis of having good community policing. The people will not share with you, they will not talk to you, or they are unwilling to work with you if there is no trust. I know that there are a bunch of historical scars [inflicted by] law enforcement — specifically in Little Rock, where we caused a lot of pain in the community.

We must be able to admit to those things, work to get on the other side of that, and have some…genuine dialogue to where we have some common destinations and [are] working together. That is the key to having a good relationship.

But, trust is a two-way street. People often say that the community doesn’t trust the police. There are some instances where the police don’t trust the community because there have been some things that have been done to us…that kind of makes you look over our shoulder in sort of a blatant stance [against] the historical scars that have been inflicted on us.

I think the public should also recognize that there is room for improvement on both sides of that coin that relates to trust.