Fort Myers is in the beginning stages of its Group Violence Intervention implementation.
Officer misconduct is under investigation, citizen complaints are properly handled and planned restructuring may be the key to success.
But there has been some resistance to change within the Fort Myers Police Department, according to a new report by Freeh Group International Solutions.
“Although there have been individuals who have sought to undermine this initiative,” the report reads, “(Chief Derrick Diggs) has continued his efforts internally to identify current and future leaders of the FMPD who are committed to improving the quality of service provided by the FMPD.”
The restorative healing circle at the Parents of Murdered Children meeting is one of the new approaches Fort Myers police Chief Derrick Diggs is taking to heal the broken relationship between the minority community and police. The group has been in existence for just under a year, but it adopted the circle because of restorative justice consultants who have been working in Fort Myers to address the underlying issues of distrust.
Diggs seeks a progressive approach to law enforcement, a change from past chiefs who had more of a heavy hand and zero-tolerance policy — especially when it came to communities of color.
Diggs, who was hired in August, inherited a department that was understaffed to police a city where gun violence became a common event and solving homicides a rarity. Forty-eight homicides went unsolved over a five-year period.
