Courtesy - Professionalism - Respect (CPR)

"Courtesy - Professionalism - Respect" (CPR) can be found painted on the sides of police cars. It's a program from 1996, started just as groups such as Amnesty International made charges of police brutality.

Whether it's an improved and working department policy or just a public relations slogan depends on who you ask about it.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/pap/papqap.html
COURTESY, PROFESSIONALISM AND RESPECT UNIT (C.P.R.)
Deputy Inspector John Cronin

Function:
Established in October 1996 to test, measure and assess the level of compliance with courtesy, professionalism and respect displayed by members of the service to both citizens and members within the Department.

26 June 1996, The Associated Press, "Human Rights Group Criticizes NYPD; Department Announces 'Respect' Policy," by Richard Pyle:

NEW YORK (AP) - Amnesty International issued a report Wednesday describing systematic brutality by New York Police - the same day the department announced a new policy of courtesy and respect for the public.
(...)
Most details of the 72-page report had been leaked previously or circulated by officials who had early access. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Police Commissioner Howard Safir and NYPD supporters said it was outdated, irrelevant and marked by errors.

For one thing, the London-based group misspelled the mayor's name as "Rudolf."
(...)
The new policy, called "Strategy No. 9," will "promote CPR - courtesy, professionalism and respect - at every level, from recruits to the highest command," he said during a news conference at police headquarters. "We intend to teach respect as a policing skill."

The program features such things as "verbal judo," the tactical use of language to defuse tense situations, and a "customer survey" system to measure and evaluate officers' compliance.

The policy is so-named because it follows seven programs established to fight crime and one program that tackled corruption.

27 June 1996, New York Times, "Police Initiate Campaign for Better Community Ties," by Clifford Krauss, pg. B3, col. 5:
The new strategy was unveiled shortly after Amnesty International, the human rights group, held a news conference to release a report that suggested that police brutality and unjustifiable force are ''a widespread problem'' in the department. Mr. Safir met with Amnesty International representatives yesterday, but he said that the report was ''statistically inaccurate.''

A public relations campaign with posters, bumper stickers and radio and television public service announcements is being designed by the department and the advertising company Ryan Drossman & Partners. The campaign will highlight the abbreviation ''C.P.R.'' -- for courtesy, professionalism and respect.

One poster shows the smiling faces of Police Department employees of different races and says, ''Everybody in New York; Black, White, Yellow or Blue Could Use A Little C.P.R.'' Another poster depicts a friendly white officer giving directions to a black youth carrying a basketball.

In a video that will be shown at precinct station houses around the city, Mr. Safir; Louis Matarazzo, the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, and other police officials stress that courtesy should be as much a part of policing as toughness and discipline.

''Respect,'' Mr. Safir declares in the video, ''To get it, you have to earn it.''

The 20-person advisory committee will include members of the clergy and various business and community groups.

Dennis M. Walcott, the president of the New York Urban League and co-chairman of the panel, said his goal was to ''improve the level of respect and to break down those barriers between the Police Department and New York City's communities.''