Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

Context

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department sought to better understand its external culture by hearing directly from the community. Leadership wanted meaningful, candid input from residents that reflected the greater community to gain insights into how the department’s culture and day-to-day practices are perceived by the public.

Our Approach

Zaja PR partnered with Research and Evaluation Group to facilitate focus groups and develop key findings for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) in its culture and climate evaluation. Zaja PR identified and recruited representatives from across Charlotte who were well positioned to share their perspectives. Using CMPD’s database and our own recommendations, we secured participation from all identified subgroups, including neighborhood leaders, nonprofit and organizational leaders, residents, youth groups, unhoused community organizers and LGBTQ+ community leaders.

We helped to shape the focus group framework by developing discussion questions and guiding the direction of each session. Our principal led and co-facilitated the focus groups, analyzed the notes and recordings to synthesize key findings. These insights were delivered to CMPD to inform their next steps in strengthening organizational culture and community trust.