Iowa City Police Department welcomes Immigrant and Refugee Community Outreach Assistant

The Iowa City Police Department is pleased to welcome Joshua Dabusu as the department's first Immigrant and Refugee Community Outreach Assistant.

As Immigrant and Refugee Community Outreach Assistant, Dabusu will work with immigrant and refugee populations in Iowa City to establish and maintain relationships between these groups and the police department, as well as foster positive communication and interactions between the police department and the community. The part-time civilian position was created as part of the Preliminary Plan to Restructure the Police and aligns with the department's goals to foster stronger bonds with all of the Iowa City community.

"My goal for this position is to help the police department develop a better understanding of immigrant and refugee groups in the City and help those groups have a better understanding of what they should expect from the police department," said Dabusu.

A native of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo; Dabusu came to Iowa in 2016. Dabusu studied Law before moving to the United States and has a degree in Criminal Justice from Kirkwood Community College. Dabusu previously worked as an immigrants/refugees coordinator at Path of Hope and was an Iowa City police intern in 2019. Dabusu speaks English, French, and Lingala.

Since joining the police department in March, Dabusu has been familiarizing himself with the police department and developing connections through the Behind the Badge program and other outreach efforts.

"People are very excited when they hear about this new position and I believe it can bring some positive changes to the immigrant and refugee community," Dabusu said. "I hope to help make our immigrant and refugee community feel safe reporting a crime and working with the police department."