Texas State hosts "Community Policing from a Global Perspective" forum

The Texas State University Police Department and the Texas State University Student Government will host "Community Policing from a Global Perspective," a public forum in the LBJ Student Center Ballroom on April 12, 5:30-8 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public, although registration is required at www.eventbrite.com/e/community-policing-from-a-global-perspective-tickets-300860831847.

The forum will offer an informative and educational experience comparing both national and international approaches to community policing. The evening will be moderated by Texas State Student Government President Andrew Gryce and will feature three internationally recognized police experts, Jason Armstrong, chief of police for Apex, North Carolina; Patricia Gallan, a former British police officer; and Deon Joseph, formerly with the Los Angeles Police Department.

The speakers will present their experiences policing in the United Kingdom and the United States with an emphasis on responding to homelessness, bias-based policing and law enforcement personnel, both armed and unarmed. The experts will provide their insights on the future of policing from an international perspective.

Armstrong was appointed chief of police for Apex, NC, in Aug. of 2021. Prior to this, he served as chief of police for the Ferguson Police Department (Mo.). Armstrong joined Ferguson PD after an accomplished career with the Forest Park Police Department (Ga.) where he started his law enforcement career in 2001. Armstrong is recognized as one of the nation’s top law enforcement leaders in the areas of community outreach and engagement and police reform. During his tenure with Ferguson PD, the department achieved their most significant gains on their federal consent decree with the Department of Justice.

Gallan is a non-executive director for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. A former police officer, she retired in 2018 as assistant commissioner specialist crime and operations of the Metropolitan Police Service. A qualified barrister, detective and hostage negotiator, she began her police career as a graduate entrant in the Metropolitan Police Service in 1987 and served in Merseyside Police and the National Crime Squad as a chief officer before returning to the Metropolitan Police as a deputy assistant commissioner.

Joseph is a law enforcement consultant who has worked for the LAPD for more than 25 years, 23 of those years in downtown Los Angeles’ skid row community. From patrolling the streets or providing a shoulder for the community to lean on to meeting with public figures and advocating for change, Joseph is dedicated to creating an environment conducive to change for the homeless and those trying to reclaim their lives from the grip of addiction.