Urbana police outline community engagement team and partner HOPE program to shift focus from enforcement to services

Urbana police on Monday described a new Community Engagement Team intended to prioritize resource connection and violence prevention over enforcement.

"The goal of the community engagement team and the violence prevention office is not gonna be used for enforcement," the UPD lieutenant said, framing the initiative as a service-oriented effort that will use data and partner organizations to divert people from the justice system.

The unit will be led by a community engagement sergeant—Antoine Funches—and a community liaison, Dr. Lashonda Cunningham. Police said the team will include two additional officers and incorporate a crisis co-response branch (a behavioral-health detective paired with a clinician) and a community violence-interventionist role. Members will wear distinct uniforms and use a marked vehicle intended to signal a nontraditional, outreach-first role.

Sergeant Antoine Funches described selection criteria and the department’s emphasis on lived experience, problem-solving skills and emotional intelligence. "We want to select officers who have shown excellence in problem solving, emotional intelligence, and the commitment of community policing," he said.

Dr. Lashonda Cunningham said the team will ‘‘go in without a vest, not with a gun,’’ and emphasized relationship-building and connections to local partners and services. The department said staff will coordinate with community organizations, track repeat calls for service with data and deploy partners for prevention and case coordination.

HOPE, a program operated under the youth nonprofit Dream and funded by the Reimagine Public Safety Act (IDHS), presented alongside UPD. "HOPE is an acronym for Healing Outreach Prevention and Education," Kathy Garrison, HOPE’s assistant director, said. She summarized the program’s three pillars—street outreach, case management and victim services—and provided outcome data from target zones.

Garrison said HOPE’s intensified presence in the Aspen Court target zone coincided with a drop in counted gun-related incidents there: the program reported seven gun-incident events in one earlier 365-day period, six in the following period while HOPE was starting, and two in the most recent 365-day period after increased outreach. HOPE also reported enrolling 40 participants in 2025 (28 classified as high risk and 12 as victims), providing flex funds to 15 participants and completing 14 discharges after goals were met.

Council members asked clarifying questions about policy documentation, operational details and oversight. When asked whether the unit would be used for enforcement, the UPD lieutenant reiterated that the unit’s operational goal is resource connection, but acknowledged the officers remain sworn and could respond to high-risk or emergency incidents when appropriate.

Council member Grace sought the written policy used by the team; police staff said they have an operating guideline and offered to share it with council. The department also described a phased hiring and assignment timeline: one community-engagement sergeant is in place, two officer slots remain and the city is taking a deliberate approach to filling those roles after field training completion.

The presentations concluded with an invitation for continued council and public input. Police and HOPE leaders said they will be reachable for follow-up, will host community events and will coordinate implementation details with city administrators and council as they finalize staffing, policy and substation planning.

The session was informational; no council action was required during the presentation.