The Waltham Police Department has set out to make a difference as they partner with Dedication to Community to host workshops from the end of January through early February. Made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, these workshops are free of charge and open to all above the age of 18.

According to the City of Waltham website, “D2C strives to educate individuals and organizations about developing and sustaining meaningful, safe and mutually supportive relationships, focusing primarily on the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they are sworn to serve.” These active listening sessions include conversations for all attendees, “aimed to uncover solutions and challenges that divide us.” 

As seen on the Waltham Police Department’s event poster, the department’s goal regarding this workshop is to “collaborate to foster a more just [and] unified community by uniting law enforcement and the community served for a session of active listening, learning [and] understanding.” The call to action on the poster is “Your voice matters!,” as the description concludes with the sentence “come [and] participate in important conversations aimed to uncover solutions to the challenges that can divide us, [and] how we can build a more unified community.” 

In correspondence with The Justice on Jan. 29, Community Services Division Commander Captain Jeffrey Rodley of the Waltham Police Department explained “We value the entire community’s voice and look forward to having important conversations with community members.” In addition to the conversations held, Rodley explained that “This is an opportunity to share your voice, meet the officers, listen, learn and understand while working together to resolve issues of importance.” 

There are two four hour workshops taking place per day on Jan. 29, Jan. 30, Feb. 5 and Feb. 6. These workshops are taking place at locations across Waltham, including the Waltham Boys and Girls Club, McDevitt Middle School, Clark Government Center and the Napoli Room at the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. According to Rodley, “There have been officers from Brandeis as well as representation from Boston PD. Members from Bentley University PD and Watertown PD will also be attending. The entire Waltham PD and E911 Dispatchers are attending these workshops.

As some of these workshops have already taken place, Rodley explained that he “appreciated the conversations and the engagement that occurred with the community.” He hopes that “these workshops have a positive impact on the Waltham Community and demonstrate our commitment to listening to the community we serve.” In terms of the future of the ideas and conversations that occur during these workshops, Rodley explained that the department “will evaluate the information [and] data obtained after the workshop.” He explained that these conversations will “help to inform decisions on any potential future programming.”