by Lin McNulty
Orcas Islands’ Norm Stamper to speak at TEDxRainier. His companion Gunther will not be in attendance.
In May 2013, writer, former Seattle police chief, community safety adviser, and Orcas islander Norm Stamper spoke at Orcas Center. His topic, “Policing in the 21st Century,” was not only captivating, it also caught the attention of Phil Klein, coordinator for an upcoming TEDxRainier presentation in Seattle.
For those unfamiliar with TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design— consistent with its origins in the Silicon Valley), it is a global set of conferences under the slogan “ideas worth spreading.” Founded in 1984 as a one-off occurrence, in 1990 it became an annual event held in Long Beach, California.
Talks on an amazing number of topics are streamed online and available for viewing at any time on the website, and if I may be editorial for just a brief moment, TED is my favorite website next to Orcas Issues!
Speakers at TED are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways they can. Past presenters include Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Al Gore, Bill Gates, and many Nobel Prize winners.
In 2009, TED started granting licenses to third parties to organize independent TED-like events internationally. Thus TEDx was born. At the end of 2012, more than 16,000 TEDx talks had been given at more than 5,000 events in 1,200 cities in 133 countries.
Our Norm Stamper has been invited to speak at TEDxRainier in November.
He won’t reveal his exact TEDx topic, but Stamper did share his unending passion and belief in the power of community policing. Although he was the original architect of community policing when he was in San Diego, he noted that preparing for the TEDx talk caused him to think and rethink all kinds of issues regarding the power of neighborhoods in what has now become common practice in more and more police agencies around the country.
The community policing dynamic (“Officer Friendly” in some towns) enables the beat cop to seriously look at the socio-economic conditions in a neighborhood, to understand the unique crime picture, recurring calls for service demands, traffic problems, and civic disorders. The goal is for the neighborhood cop to understand the area better than anyone.
It doesn’t stop there, however. It is with this increased knowledge that the police, then, are able to work with the community members to advance the cause of law enforcement appropriate to a given area. “No longer,” says Stamper, “should the police be the sole arbiter of what’s good for the community.” When the people living in a particular area are free to openly convey to the police what frightens them or any crime that causes them to change the way they live, the residents and police become a team.
Of course, there are times where police, or a lone officer, must make decisions during dangerous circumstances. If something bad and scary is happening right now, that is a job for the police. But when there is an opportunity for law enforcement and the public to work through and analyze situations, that provides the potential for the best outcome to find a solution.
“Any law enforcement agency that is not openly and fully sharing information with the public about crime affecting a community is not behaving rationally,” adds Stamper. There is often a tendency on behalf of the police to hoard info which, if shared, would bring about a quicker resolution. Yes, it is important to “get” the bad guy, but it is even more important to prevent the next incident. Sharing with the public can bring this about.
Stamper indicates he can keep his talk within the allotted 18 minutes, although he has seen a few go over—up to 19 or 20 minutes. He just finished writing his talk and will spend the next few weeks going over his presentation to make sure “I am not indulging myself or abusing the audience by misusing my time limit.”
Stamper has never been quiet about his commitment to civil liberty and community policy. “What we need to be about is coming together about our differences,” he iterates.
TEDxRainier will be at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle on November 9, 2013. The event will run from 9 a.m. — 6 p.m. and tickets are available HERE. If you are not able to attend, the event should eventually be available for viewing HERE.
Norm Stamper is a 34 year veteran police officer, serving the first 28 years in San Diego and the last six (1994-2000) as Seattle’s Chief of Police where he led a process of major organizational restructuring and created new bureaus of Professional Responsibility, Community Policing, and Family and Youth Protection. He holds a Ph.D. in leadership and human behavior and undergraduate degrees in criminal justice administration. He was a founding member of the Advisory Council of the Clinton administration’s Violence Against Women Act. He remains active in efforts to reform the nation’s drug laws, abolish the death penalty, end family violence, and strengthen police accountability. He is the author of Breaking Rank: A Top Cop’s Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing. Currently at work on a novel, he lives and writes in the San Juan Islands, and blogs for the Huffington Post.
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Congratulations, Norm! This is perfect for you. Have a freakin’ Ball!
Fantastic! Glad the world will meet, and learn from, Norm.
Great! Can’t wait to watch it, Norm!