The Good Life – November-December 2016

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30 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
They are the guys students ask for by name at recess. They’re the friendly faces that represent authority figures. They are the two men tasked with creating rules and plans for something that’s never been done before in their community. They are the Fargo Police Department’s Community Trust Officers, and their mission is to establish a legacy of trust between the police and the community they're sworn to protect. LOCAL HEROES BY: ALEXANDRA FLOERSCH ■ PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA Officers Michael Bloom and Matthew Niemeyer willingly left the downtown beat to take their positions in October of 2015. Thanks to a federal grant to support the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice across the U.S., both officers were able to fill a crucial role in the community: to reach out and educate citizens. “To boil our position down, it is to build trust and transparency,” Niemeyer said. “The trust part is significantly more complicated. We are trying to do something significant within our community. We are looking for different holes that need to be filled, where the police department can play a role in really making this community better.” One of the biggest opportunities the two trust officers first identified was working with area youth, specifically from low-income, minority and new American populations. “We’re working to help them develop some interests and hobbies within the community,” Bloom said. Nationwide studies show that doing so helps students behave better in school, perform better academically and keep them out of trouble. “There are a lot of things that go into that programming, not only to reduce crime, but also to have the police department play a big role in helping a lot of these kids pursue a better life,” Niemeyer added. The goal is to focus kids’ attention, kids who “would otherwise just end up playing around in the park and—out of sheer boredom and availability—end up getting into trouble,” he said. Our job gives us freedom to connect with people on deeper levels than most cops ever get to. — Bloom urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 31
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Page 10 and 11: BY: MEGHAN FEIR ■ PHOTOS BY: URBA
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Page 14 and 15: BY: KRISSY NESS ■ PHOTOS BY: URBA
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Page 18 and 19: BY: MEGHAN FEIR ■ PHOTOS BY: URBA
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Page 26 and 27: BY: KRISSY NESS ■ PHOTOS BY: URBA
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The Good Life – November-December 2016

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