Given national movements like “Defund the Police”, how can Lexington prevent putting law enforcement, and our community, at risk?

Sometimes it can be difficult to filter out local issues from regional and national issues. The polarization of our nation seems to be forcing people to 'take sides', while respectful disagreement and thoughtful dialogue is getting lost. We believe that over a very long period of time, the LPD has generated credibility and trust within the community. The community continues to provide support for professional policing and appropriate levels of training to ensure we are able to continue to provide high quality services.

In September/October 2020, we recorded about 35 short videos about police services in Lexington that soon will be posted on our website. We hope the videos, as well as this FAQ, will help the community better understand how we approach policing in Lexington.

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1. Given national movements like “Defund the Police”, how can Lexington prevent putting law enforcement, and our community, at risk?
2. I've seen people without face coverings at protests in Lexington; can the face covering order be enforced?
3. What's happened to the job title "Peace Officer", as opposed to "Police Officer", or "Law Enforcement Officer"?
4. What are the biggest strengths of policing in Lexington?
5. How do you feel about the stories people tell of their negative experiences? How are things different now?
6. How can we highlight some of the positive stories people have of policing in Lexington?
7. Can you explain the role of the Massachusetts State Police Union in terms of oversight and management? Do they stand in the way of improving things locally?
8. How are members of the Human Rights Committee held accountable, considering their relationship to the Police Department and how important their role is?
9. With regard to religion, has the department considered a chaplain, or does the Department already have a chaplain?
10. What are some of the efforts underway that help promote positive interactions with the police?
11. Can police officers enforce the Governor's mask mandate?