Lorenzo M. Boyd, Ph.D., founder and president of RENZ Consulting, LLC, addresses law enforcement officers at Community Policing Training in 2021. (Provided photo — RENZ Consulting, LLC)

SARANAC LAKE — Four years after establishing its regional Community Policing Initiative, the Adirondack Diversity Initiative invites North Country community members to its first public community policing forum.

The forum will provide information and insights about the innovative training program that was designed to help local law enforcement agencies fulfill their commitment to equity and inclusion by building stronger relationships between officers and the diverse communities they serve.

ADI’s community policing forum will take place at 6 p.m. at Hotel Saranac on Tuesday.

“Our Community Policing Initiative is more than a program; it is a commitment to building trust, transparency and shared safety for all across the Adirondacks,” ADI Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher said. “I am excited that, for the first time, we have quantifiable data showing how the information and training we have provided to law enforcement is shaping day-to-day behaviors on the ground. This report allows our community to see tangible progress, deepen their understanding of the work and hold all of us accountable to meaningful change. It also gives us space to acknowledge the daily traumas carried by officers, who are not just public servants, but also our partners and neighbors. This work is complex, but it is essential, and I’m proud to share these findings with the community we serve.”

The forum will feature presentations by Rea-Fisher and leaders at RENZ Consulting, the firm that has designed and led the initiative’s trauma-informed policing trainings, as well as officers ho have participated in the program. Speakers will share background and history of the Community Policing Initiative, methods and topics covered by instructors, feedback from participants and results gathered in a 2024 evaluation of the program.

“Building bridges between law enforcement and the communities they serve begins with understanding,” said Lorenzo Boyd, RENZ Consulting Founder and President. “Understanding the trauma community members carry, and the trauma officers carry as well. Our work isn’t about telling officers what to think, but empowering them to think critically about their interactions and the lived experiences behind them. When we recognize the deeply subjective nature of trauma on all sides, we create space for more compassionate, effective and accountable policing.”

Boyd is a leading authority in policing best-practices, with more than 30 years of combined experience in law enforcement and higher education. He also is a former police officer, having served as deputy sheriff in Boston, Massachusetts for over 13 years.

ADI established the Community Policing Initiative in 2020 to support police agencies’ efforts in fulfilling former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order #203: New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. The order mandates that agencies in New York state must develop a plan to improve policies, procedures and practices of law enforcement within their communities.

ADI partnered with RENZ Consulting to develop a program that would address the unique challenges of officers working in what are often small, rural and remote communities of the Adirondacks, through exercises that are both affirmative and cooperative for participating agencies. The initiative aims to strengthen relationships between police agencies and the communities they serve, with specific focus on eliminating racial disparities that disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous and people of color and other marginalized residents and visitors.

Hosted by ADI, a program of the Adirondack North Country Association, the Community Policing Forum will take place at on Tuesday, Dec. 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hotel Saranac. Community members are invited to attend a welcome reception at 5:30 p.m. with light refreshments. Presentations from ADI and RENZ Consulting, LLC will begin at 6 p.m.