SCRANTON, Pa. — Scranton has seen protests in the wake of George Floyd's death. But unlike in some larger cities, they have remained peaceful.
Last week, Scranton police officials sat down with the organizers of a Black Lives Matter protest planned for this Saturday downtown.
Police Chief Carl Graziano told Newswatch 16 peace between the people and the police going forward needs to be built on good relationships.
So, he's sent the city police chaplain and an officer to go door to door to listen to people of color.
"Talking to the minority community, asking what they would like to see different in policing, what do you think of policing in general, what do you think of the Scranton Police Department? How have your interactions been with the Scranton Police department? Sort of an in-person citizen survey," Chief Graziano said.
RELATED: Calls for justice in Scranton
Graziano said in the program's first day, officers had 77, sometimes emotional, conversations.
"Their overall opinion of police in general, nationally, is certainly down because of incidents that happened. But the majority of the individuals interviewed, at least yesterday, felt that SPD was doing, they had a more positive view of SPD than of police nationally," he added.
Newswatch 16 asked Chief Graziano about the national protests' latest movement: to redirect funding for or to abolish police forces.
Graziano said it's not that simple.
"If anything, I think what needs to be done is increase funding nationally for police. Institute mandatory body-worn cameras across the country, but that has to be funded. Institute mandatory crisis intervention across the country, standardize use of force training across the country. And that certainly can't be done by reducing funding," he said.