Alaskan Police Launch Kindness Campaign

 

After a year of clashes¹ between American citizens and police officers, police in Alaska are trying something different: Making 2017 a “Year of Kindness.”

The police department in Juneau, Alaska launched the campaign to urge residents to perform at least one act of kindness every day.

The department says it hopes to “build bridges” between people to overcome racial, religious or socioeconomic differences.

Fighting hate with kindness

The idea for the campaign came from police Lieutenant² Kris Sell. She told VOA that her concern was not just for police, but also for safety of citizens.

“I had this idea in about late August that we needed to do something, and that maybe, all of these attacks, if they have at their roots hate, we can go after their hate. And how we can go after their hate is with kindness.”

Sell said the Juneau police are doing several different things to support the campaign. For example, officers are giving away donated socks the first Saturday of each month for anyone who needs them.

She also said the police department has developed a 'kindness surge³' calendar. Juneau residents and community groups can sign up for weekly activities on the planner.

Sell said the goal is to measure the effect of kindness on crime, suicides⁴ and emergency calls by the end of 2017.

She adds that the campaign has received a lot of support.

“What I did is went out to the community, to say ‘how about we as an entire town push back against hatred⁵ and violence and just negativity?’ And I got a tremendous amount of support. The town was very excited about it. I’m not sure why this particular effort resonates so much with people, but I think it has to do with a position across the country that people don’t like what they are seeing happening around them, and they want to do something to try and change their environment.”

Making better communities

Sell said it makes sense for police officers to take the lead on a kindness campaign because they are the people who react when people don't treat others well. She hopes the campaign will spread across the country so other communities become nicer places to live.

“I can change what I do every day and I can change the area six feet (two meters) around me, but if I get thousands of people in the community on board with doing that, I think you can change an entire community. And that’s what we are hoping to prove with this initiative⁶, in that we can change what it feels like to live in a particular city...”

She noted⁷ that the kindness campaign does not extend to law enforcement activities. Tickets for speed or other traffic violations⁸ are not being forgiven.

Words in This Story

resident – n. someone who lives in a particular place

sock – n. a piece of clothing that is worn on your foot and that covers your ankle and sometimes the lower part of your leg

socioeconomic – adj. of, relating to, or involving a combination of social and economic factors

surge – v. to suddenly increase to an unusually high level

tremendous – adj. very large or great

1 clashes   

冲突( clash的名词复数 )； 不协调； （两群人之间的）打斗

参考例句：

• Clashes broke out between police and demonstrators. 警方与示威者发生了冲突。
• Several policemen were injured in the clashes. 几名警察在冲突中受伤。

2 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

3 surge   

n.汹涌，澎湃；vi.汹涌，强烈感到，飞涨；vt.放开，松手

参考例句：

• The surge travelled southwards along the coast.浪涛沿着海岸向南涌去。
• It failed to stimulate a surge of investment in industry.这没有能刺激工业投资的激增。

4 suicides   

n.自杀( suicide的名词复数 )；自取灭亡；自杀者；自杀性行为

参考例句：

• Since when do suicides miss twice, lay down a rug and start over? 自杀什么时候会失手二次后铺好地毯然后再试一次？ 来自电影对白
• Chris: And the reality is suicides go to hell? 克里斯：而现实就是自杀者要下地狱？ 来自互联网

5 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

6 initiative   

n.主动性，首创精神，主动权（的行动），倡议

参考例句：

• He went to see the headmaster on his own initiative.他主动去看望校长。
• His employer had described him as lacking in initiative and drive.雇主说他缺乏进取心和干劲。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。