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　　LONG BEACH, CALIF.—The shooting of anunarmed black teenager by a white policeofficer during a street confrontation inFerguson, Missouri has sparked debate aboutracial divisions in America, and the sometimeshostile relationship between police and somecommunities. Many police departments,including the one in racially diverse Long Beach,California, are using a technique calledcommunity policing to both fight crime andimprove relations.

　　Through the years, the city of Long Beach has struggled with gang violence, poverty, andracial tensions among residents and with police.

　　22-year-old Resident Jacob Sarenana, said he has experienced it firsthand.

　　“They always try to mess with me. I ask 'what's the reason for pulling me over?' 'Oh, becauseyou fit the description.' Really? Really, yeah, I guess I'm always fitting the description then,because I'm always getting pulled over,” said Sarenana.

　　Community activist Darick Simpson has been working to improve relations by coordinatingmeetings between young people and officers.

　　Simpson said in a city where more than 30% of youth under 17 are poor, poverty and racialdifferences become the causes of conflict.

　　“With any differences come some misunderstanding. People bring their culture, they bring thathistory into the workplace into schools, into different social scenarios,” said Simpson.

　　While racial differences can cause conflict, Simpson said he has seen improvement over theyears. Last year, the city saw its lowest violent crime rate in more than 40 years. So far thisyear, the numbers are even lower.

　　Don Rodriguez works with young people in the city, and said officers are more involved with thecommunity than ever before.

　　“Now we're seeing more community people involved in the policing, working with the police,police getting a better feel of the community,” said Rodriguez.

　　Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell said that in past years, officers would tell the communitywhat the problems were and try to fix them. But that philosophy has changed into one of“community policing” -- partnering with citizens and community leaders to solve deep-rootedproblems in the neighborhoods.

　　“We build a team. And when you have a team, when a crisis comes up, you're not dealing withit by yourself. And too often when we see things get volatile across America, whether it's aracial issue or another similar type of issue -- it's often because there aren't those pre-existingrelationships in place,” explained McDonnell.

　　But, he pointed out, even successful partnerships are not a guarantee that conflicts won'thappen.

　　“We will always have issues that arise. We will always have that potential for conflict. It's not ifit happens, it's when, and more importantly, how we deal with it when it does happen,” saidMcDonnell.

　　McDonnell said the key to shifting deep-rooted biases is reaching out to young people all thetime, not just when a crime has occurred.

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