210: Lisa Broderick—How To Build Peaceful Communities With Our Peace Officers

Hear how attitudes toward police became transformed

Lisa Broderick recently told me how she had her “aha” moment. Sitting on a beach in Florida, she watched a police four-wheeler driving along the sand. On its side was a big sign: Peace Officer. She had long been disturbed by the amount of violence in our cities, in our society, and in fact, everywhere. Could the words “Peace Officer” change how we thought about the men and women in uniform who are here to help us stay peaceful? Was there a “low tech, high impact” way to create meaningful and lasting change? Yes, there was. Lisa created Police2Peace, a non-pofit that works with cities and police departments around the country to transform safety and security into a collaborative effort. Now more than ever, all of us need to hear her amazing story.

A peaceful community is a far safer community

The organization Lisa founded, Police2Peace, was started with the idea that the simple daily exchange and use of words create more peace and harmony for communities, and greater public trust for law enforcement. What Police2Peace tries to communicate is that the police are more than just law enforcement officers — they are peace officers. (And don’t we need a lot more of this today.)

The research you’ll hear Lisa describe in our interview was conducted in two areas of the country, California and South Carolina. In both places, social scientists measured community attitudes before and after the launch of Police2Peace. This “launch” merely consisted of putting new signs on the sides of police vehicles, saying “Peace Officer.” The result? First and foremost, that what research has proven many times over is really true: using different language changes how people “feel” and “think” about things. In this case, the new signs dramatically changed how those two communities saw their police…not as adversaries as in the past but as peaceful fellow citizens helping others stay peaceful.

Today, Police2Peace is rolling out to communities throughout the country, providing them with their own “Peace Officer”signs. The challenge, Lisa says, is for police departments, from the top down, to believe that actively displaying the signs will help them accomplish what they want most — to keep people safe and peaceful.

Who is Lisa Broderick?

From her early days at Apple over 30 years ago to helping launch some of the first e-commerce companies on the internet, Lisa Broderick has been at the forefront of utilizing communication tools to transform people and change social behavior. An experienced speaker and presenter, she has appeared on numerous television broadcasts including CNN and ABC News. Lisa earned her BA in Economics from Stanford University and her MBA in Global Finance and Management from Duke University.

You can contact Lisa at lbroderick@police2peace.com or police2peace.com.

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