Our Work
The EPIC project began in 2010, when Vera’s Center on Immigration and Justice received a grant from the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (the COPS Office), to assess promising practices in police-immigrant relations throughout the United States. Over two years, EPIC staff will identify law enforcement agencies that are successfully building strong relationships with immigrant communities and feature their work in a publication and podcasts. These resources will highlight effective ways that jurisdictions can restore, cultivate, and maintain partnerships with immigrant communities.

Why EPIC?
As the number of immigrants living in the United States continues to increase, fostering positive police-immigrant relations is vital to the partnerships and problem solving that are central to community policing. Yet law enforcement agencies face many challenges in working with immigrant communities, including some that hamper trust and confidence. Language barriers, immigrants’ possible fear of deportation or of police, federal enforcement of immigration laws, and cultural differences are some of the factors that lead to misunderstandings. Police need to be able to collaborate effectively with all of the people they serve so that they can offer protection, gather evidence, and keep the public safe.

For more information about EPIC, contact Susan Shah.