Corrective Education Company (CEC) was in attendance Wednesday October 24th to receive an award for its retail Restorative Justice initiative along with the Arlington, Texas Police Department (APD).
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the Arlington Police Department, represented by: Chief Will Johnson, Asst. Chief Kevin Kolbye, Lt. Leo Daniels, and Sargeants Jakisha Jones and Dylan Eckstrom received awards on behalf of the department. Jeff Powers from Corrective Education Company was also in attendance.
The awards accepted included:
- The 2017 IACP Cisco Leadership in Community Policing Award
- The 2017 IACP Laura and John Arnold Foundation Leadership in Law Enforcement Research Award
- The 2017 IACP Michael Shanahan Leadership in Public/Private Cooperation Award.
The Restorative Justice initiative was launched in 2015 to provide an alternative path to incarceration for low-level theft offenders at store level that had been apprehended by retail department’s loss prevention units. Corrective Education Company’s educational technology platform offers restorative justice as an alternative path for the offender rather than traditional means of prosecution and incarceration.
A link to the Arlington Police Department press release can be found here.
Arlington Police Chief, Will Johnson, stated “We believe the success of this program has led to positive outcomes for the City of Arlington and can certainly be replicated in other communities.”
Since the program began in Arlington, the police department has experienced more than a 50 percent reduction in theft calls for service and overall arrests, which translate to more than 12,000 police resource hours saved.
“We are honored to see our retail partners and a police force like the Arlington Police Department able to make such a positive impact in its community. Our educational technology is able to give low-level offenders an opportunity at a second chance” said CEC chief customer acquisition officer, Jeff Powers. “From giving thousands of hours back to the police department, to helping low level shoplifting offenders make better choices, to assisting retailers challenged with combating the multi-billion dollar problem that is shoplifting, this recognition is greatly appreciated.”
