ILACP 2021 Annual Conference Keynote Speaker:

Policing Post George Floyd: How Did We Get Here, And Where Do We Go Now?

Dr. Lorenzo Boyd
University of New Haven
Thursday, August 19, 2021 - 8:30 a.m.
"Re-imagine police-community relations" 
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 About this session

Dr. Boyd is a dynamic speaker, a former deputy sheriff, and a nationally recognized expert in police-community relations. He believes the death of George Floyd has proven to be the line of demarcation for society’s views of the challenges of modern policing. How the police respond to the events of 2020 and 2021 will make or break the future of police-community relations. What are the lessons learned and how can we apply them to better police our communities?

Key learning outcomes

  • Understand the lived experience of those who are being policed
  • Introduction to cultural competence
  • Understand the need for increased communications
  • Reimagine police/community relations

Bio 

Dr. Lorenzo M. Boyd is a nationally recognized expert in police-community relations and an authority on urban policing. His 14-year service as a deputy sheriff in Boston informs his 20-year career in higher education. He effectively translates research and theory into practice, making him a sought-after consultant, trainer, and speaker for departments and communities across the country. 

Through it company RENZ Consulting, LLC, Dr. Boyd conducts professional development training with a central focus on building levels of empathy, lived experience, and cultural competence among police personnel. He works with police leaders around the country to determine training needs and develops interactive professional development sessions that include real-life scenarios and role play.

While working as an associate professor and graduate coordinator of criminal justice at Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, N.C., the city’s police chief asked him to create a community-policing program. After observing the community’s high levels of unemployment, drug use, and transience, and lack of after-school programs, Dr. Boyd recommended the city first develop a community-wellness program.

As an adviser to the Fayetteville police chief for eight years, he worked with city agencies to make numerous improvements and held community-police forums where residents could talk about complaints including concerns about racial profiling, and police officers could share their own experiences. He then created a community-policing program that included training modules for sworn and non-sworn personnel on topics including ethics and leadership; researched and developed new evidence-based policing strategies; and assisted with officer recruitment.

Dr. Boyd currently serves as the Vice President for Diversity & Inclusion and former Director of the Center for Advanced Policing at the University of New Haven.

Dr. Boyd regularly appears on local, regional, national, and international media outlets to discuss policing in the aftermath of high-profile cases. Dr. Boyd is the former president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Science and a life member of National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. He is a published author and dedicated trainer. He earned his Ph.D. from Northeastern University (Boston) in sociology with a concentration in Urban Policing. He also holds masters and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Massachusetts.