Reflections from the MCCA Winter Meeting

I had the great pleasure of joining the chiefs of North America’s largest police departments. The Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) winter meeting took place in Washington, DC from February 8-10th. At the meeting, we discussed some of the most pressing challenges facing public safety in 2023.

Learnings and Takeaways

One of the primary topics at the meeting was discussing the recent tragedy in Memphis— how to prevent, and how to respond to crises that breach public trust. It was heartening to be part of a candid, tough, and reflective conversation. It is clear that this group of people is committed to a very different vision for policing. Among other things, the assembled chiefs stressed the importance of transparency and accountability when it comes to incidents of police use of force. They shared strategies for de-escalation and minimizing the use of force whenever possible.

Furthermore, another critical issue discussed was the increase in violent crime across the country. The chiefs discussed community engagement, intelligence-led policing, and collaboration with other law enforcement agencies as strategies for addressing this trend. Notably, several federal partners were represented on the agenda, including the US Deputy Attorney General.

As a partner to these agencies, Zencity is dedicated to providing tools and technology that enable law enforcement to understand and engage with their communities better. We provide real-time insights that help agencies make data-driven decisions that improve the quality of community relations. We do this by analyzing and making sense of vast amounts of data from surveys, social media, and other sources. It was a pleasure to talk to agency leaders about how we can help them address their current challenges.

I returned from DC energized. The MCCA meeting, especially so recently following a tragic national event, reinforced Zencity’s commitment to helping law enforcement agencies be more effective, transparent, and accountable.