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Dec. 10—A community-focused approach and police reform — those are the aspects that have defined Doreen Jokerst's first five years as the Chief of Police at the University of Colorado Boulder.

"I think culture in policing is probably 20 years behind, and when you want to talk about police reform and changing police departments as a whole, you have to change it from the inside out," Jokerst said.

Under her leadership, CUPD became the first police department in Boulder County to receive a national accreditation. She's worked to build an inclusive culture in the department and community.

"It's a big deal for me that people run to police for help and not run away, and the only way you can do that is by building trust and having conversations," Jokerst said.

In addition to building a positive culture at CUPD, Jokerst is fighting for police reform nationally. She's a founding member of the Curve, a nonprofit that was created following the murder of George Floyd with the goal of advancing a more modern, healthy police culture nationwide.

Jokerst also signed the 30×30 pledge, an initiative made up of a coalition of leaders working to advance the experience and representation of women in policing. Increasing gender and racial diversity at CUPD and nationally is key, she said.

"People run to people for help that look like them," Jokerst said. "There's a relatability factor. I want to make sure our police department has an equal representation to the community in which we serve."

Jokerst is also a full-time student. She's on track to graduate in May with a doctorate in educational equity and executive leadership in higher education from CU Denver.

"I really felt like I'm in a leadership position to effect positive change on the campus, but my lens is very narrowly scoped to policing," Jokerst said. "If I can learn and educate and be more broader-scoped ... while bringing in my policing background, I'd be more apt to make better, more well-rounded decisions here on a college campus that effects everybody."

Her dissertation is on CU Boulder's citation program and finding out whether writing administrative citations instead of city tickets for low level offenses like possession alcohol impacts the likelihood of reoffending.

She found that the likelihood of reoffending was the same whether the students went through the criminal justice system, something she was excited about because it shows that education for low level offenses can work and reduce the criminal justice footprint.

An early passion

Jokerst found her passion for criminal justice when she was eight years old.

Her family took her for a tour of Alcatraz Island, a former prison off the coast of San Francisco, and she was completely fascinated by the experience. As part of the visit, her parents bought her a book written by a prisoner who had spent time there.

"He went through his story and I remember standing there and I just felt so bad for his experience. Throughout his book, it talked about his challenging childhood ... and I knew I wanted to make a difference in serving in the criminal justice field."

At 14, Jokerst started as a police cadet and realized she could have an impact through policing.

"You cannot leave the community better, try to have a positive impact or speak for the victims that no longer have a voice if you're not working with the community," Jokerst said. "I wanted to make positive change. That's what I wanted to do."

Deputy Chief Mark Heyart, who's been with CUPD for more than 25 years, said Jokerst cares about people deeply and is very community-oriented.

"We've always had a strong foundation in the department of community engagement and building layers of systems to work within a really diverse community," he said. "Her time here has taken what nice foundations existed and expanded those leaps and bounds under her guidance."

Senior and Student Body President Chase Cromwell said there's a wide spectrum of thoughts on the relationship between CUPD and the students, partly because there are so many students. Cromwell has known and worked with Jokerst since his freshman year.

"I'm someone who's from a political background that's a little skeptical of law enforcement and their role in the community and how that gets skewed sometimes," he said. "I've found her to be really professional and collaborative."

He said CUPD officers participate in a lot of events and she herself is visible and cares deeply about the students.

"The rest of the campus leadership trusts her because she's present and around when she needs to be," Cromwell said.

An inclusive culture

Heyart said the culture at CUPD is a healthy balance of supportiveness and understanding boundaries. If people make mistakes, they learn from them and move forward.

People's pride in their department and their job is at an all time high in the 25 years he's been there, Heyart said.

"She has high expectations, and I think that's one of the best traits we could have in a leader," he said. "It really does motivate everyone to achieve their best."

Heyart said what impresses him about Jokerst is she isn't afraid to talk with people who perhaps aren't happy how something was handled and have a real, meaningful conversation.

"I think that builds trust," Heyart said. "I think people know that she's fair but holds people accountable."

Jokerst said inside-out police reform starts in how they train, onboard and treat people. She believes anyone should be able to speak to the chief with suggestions and ideas no matter rank or status.

"I don't doubt that some of my new officers, tenured officers and everyone else will see things in a different lens than what I do," Jokerst said. "If I don't take those perspectives into account or they don't feel like they cannot bring those suggestions forward ... then I'm never going to hear those ideas and policing will be done the way its always been done."

Cromwell said Jokerst has been a visible, accessible leader. If a student has a concern, Cromwell said, he feels confident routing that concern through her because she'll take it seriously.

Cromwell is also a member of the CUPD oversight and review board, and he's noticed how the department will take the time to review complaints seriously by bringing out body camera footage, for example.

"I think that's a very proactive and progressive way to do it that a lot of agencies aren't doing," Cromwell said.

A big part of building a positive police culture is training, Jokerst said, and she's highly focused on researching national standards and best practices. She brought in active bystander training and training for critical decision-making.

"I think you see what happens nationally when training isn't provided ... I want to make sure I'm providing all my resources to my department members to make sure they can do their job effectively," Jokerst said. "If they cannot do their job effectively, guess who suffers? The community suffers. That's who suffers."

"I just want to make a positive difference, and that's what I strive to do every day," Jokerst said.