Overview

Each year since 1998, the International Association of

Chiefs of Police (IACP) Community Policing Committee has
recognized the best community policing practices of agencies
around the world by bestowing upon them the Community
Policing Award from IACP and Cisco. Entries are awarded in
five population categories so that all agencies, regardless of
resources and staff, have an opportunity to compete. Entries
are judged on featuring innovative ideas that utilize the power
of community policing, through collaboration and partnerships,
to make local, national, and global communities safer from
crime and terrorism.
According to Todd A. Miller, Mankato, MN director of public
safety and chairperson of the IACP Community Policing
Committee, The philosophy of community policing is seeing
a resurgence as the basis for the delivery of services to
communities due to the effectiveness of the philosophy in
solving problems, engaging diverse populations, and creating
partnerships with citizens and other city or jurisdiction
departments. Tough economic conditions and limited
resources have caused agencies to reach out to volunteers
for the force multiplication they offer. Utilizing community
policing as the overall umbrella policy under which to group
tactics such as intelligence-led policing and hot-spot policing
is the most effective means of making our communities
safer, whether it be from crime or from terrorism. We know
that many agencies and countries are facing tremendous
challenges and you cant have homeland security without
the hometown security that comes from police and the
community working together. That is why we undertake this
tremendous effort each year to recognize the best of the
best.
Since the awards inception, more than 68 agency winners
and 128 agency finalists from all over the world have been
recognized for their commitment to community policing and
innovation. In addition, since 2005, agencies that excel in
utilizing community policing philosophies in the furtherance of
homeland security have also received special recognition for
their initiatives.
Community policing is central to the success of the police
mission as we provide cost-effective services to our diverse
communities, said IACP President Craig T. Steckler. I
applaud those recognized with this prestigious award and
know that what they have created in their communities will
positively impact the law enforcement community worldwide.
The submissions of the 2013 winners and finalists are
highlighted in this document as best practices in community
policing and summarized to give the reader an idea of
what their initiatives are, how they can be adapted to solve
problems in other communities, and who to contact for more
information.
Agencies recognized in this document are:
Winners:
Population fewer than 20,000 residents
No Winner Selected
Population of 20,001 to 50,000 residents
Mankato Department of Public SafetyMankato, MN
Population of 50,001 to 100,000 residents
Abington Township Police DepartmentAbington, PA
Population of 100,001 to 250,000 residents
Boise Police DepartmentBoise, ID
Population of 250,001+ residents
Hamilton Police ServiceHamilton, Ontario, Canada
Finalists:
Population fewer than 20,000
Vail Police DepartmentVail, CO
Population of 20,001 to 50,000
Madison City Police DepartmentMadison, AL
St. Louis Park Police DepartmentSt. Louis Park, MN
Population of 50,001 to 100,000
Duluth Police DepartmentDuluth, MN
Population of 100,001 to 250,000
Dayton Police DepartmentDayton, OH
Grand Prairie Police Department Grand Prairie, TX
Population of over 250,001
Hong Kong Police DepartmentWan Chai, Hong Kong
Island, China
Riverside Police DepartmentRiverside, CA
2 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Homeland Security Special Recognition:
Colorado State PatrolColorado, USA
Cisco is honored to support agencies throughout the world
that help Educate, Serve and Protect our communities utilizing
community policing as their philosophy, said Bob Stanberry,
solution business development manager and senior law
enforcement advisor. We are very proud to support the
IACP Community Policing Committee which helps collaborate
in new and exciting ways solving problems throughout our
communities.
Winners and finalists for this years awards highlight innovative
initiatives that address issues involving: immigrant and refugee
communities, youth crime, organized retail theft, mental
illness, communication technology, rental property issues,
blight and nuisance problems, prostitution, organizational
transformation, and homeland security community education.
These initiatives have a high degree of portability and can
be modified to address similar issues in other communities
around the world.
Agencies, officers, and citizens who wish to learn more about
these and other innovative ways to reduce crime, build trust
in their communities, and improve community quality of life
are encouraged to visit the IACP Community Policing website,
www.iacpcommunitypolicing.org, which is sponsored by
Cisco. On the site, you can list your agency as a community
policing agency and link back to your own web page. You can
upload your own videos, information about your agencies,
and post notices of meetings and activities your agencies and
citizens are participating in. There are forums and resources
for community policing practitioners, both sworn and civilian,
which serve as an opportunity for you to learn more about
community policing, look for new ideas, and to secure help
from your peers around the world.
Agencies wishing to submit their initiatives for the 2014
Community Policing Award by IACP and Cisco for a chance
to be recognized at the 2014 IACP Conference in Orlando,
FL, can do so by going to www.iacpcommunitypolicing.
org. You may then register your agency information, and
view the Community Policing Award process videos, which
will give you information on what judges are looking for
in the submissions. You can also use this website to read
submissions from previous winners.
About The IACP
The International Association of Chiefs of Police is the worlds
oldest and largest nonprofit membership organization of
police executives, with more than 20,000 members in more
than 140 different countries. IACPs leadership consists of the
operating chief executives of international, federal, state, and
local agencies of all sizes. For more information, go to
www.theiacp.org.
Winners
Category: Population Under 20,000
No Winner Selected
Category: Population 20,001 to 50,000
Mankato Department of Public Safety, Minnesota
8710 South Front Street
Mankato, MN 56001
Contact Person: Commander Amy Vokal
Email: avokal@city.mankato.mn.us
Phone: 507 387-8700
Agency Head: Director Todd A. Miller
Tapestry Project, Building a Strong Community One Thread
at a Time
Mankato Department of Public Safety
Population Served: 40,119
The City of Mankato (MN), a major regional center in Southern
Minnesota, is home to 40,119 residents, four institutions
of higher education, and serves a contiguous population of
96,740. The City of Mankato and its Department of Public
Safety (DPS) has had a long history and commitment to
community values and diversity. Mankato has implemented
the community-oriented governance philosophy whereby all
officers and firefighters have areas of responsibility, and all
key city personnel, including citizens, business members, and
minority group representatives have been trained together to
address community problems.
In recent years, Mankato has experienced rapid growth and
expansion of both the business and residential community.
Mankatos refugee and immigrant population has grown
from a handful of community members to more than 500
refugee families that total more than 5,000 individuals of
Somali, Sudanese and Iraqi descent. There are 36 languages
spoken in the school district. Many of the refugees from
Eastern Africa and the Middle East came to the United States
from refugee camps where they spent years living in tents
3 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
and struggling to survive with very limited food and shelter.
Community and conformity to laws were secondary to
survival. With this rapid surge in population, the DPS found
a need to re-focus many of the citys services and agency
personnel to improve community engagement with this
expanding population.
In response, DPS, in partnership with the Minnesota Council
of Churches Refugee Services and Lloyd Management a
local property management firm that provides housing for
much of Mankatos refugee population, developed the
Tapestry Project. This initiative is a collaborative partnership
with the goal of creating a strong community through
education, mentorship, and cross-cultural learning. The
Tapestry Project, in particular, sought to address specific
barriers to self-sufficiency by teaching problem-solving skills
through facilitated discussions on housing, parenting, safety,
and health education to current and former refugees living in
Mankato.
The pilot Tapestry Project program was a six-week
mentorship course for refugees made possible by a grant
from the City of Mankato. During the pilot, additional needs
related to food and nutrition were identified, at which time
ECHO Food Shelf was enlisted to provide assistance and
information to participants in the project. The Mankato area
faith-based community (a.k.a. Community Connectors)
volunteered their time to serve as social and cross-cultural
peers. A group of Community Connectors, along with DPS
officers, welcomed the refugees and led conversations at
their table pertaining to the weekly topic. These conversations
were designed to increase knowledge, remove barriers, and
encourage sharing among refugees, Community Connectors,
police and firefighters, and facilitators.
To date, there have been five Tapestry Projects with more
than 120 attendees from three different refugee communities.
Dr. Dave Beimers, an assistant professor of social work at
Minnesota State University, Mankato, evaluated the program
and found a 35 percent reduction in calls for police service,
reduced lease infractions and evictions, reduction in reports
of cooking fires, increase in communication and exchange
between police officers and refugees, increased cultural
competency among police and fire officials, and increased
civic involvement among refugees. Notably, several graduates
even applied to become Mankato DPS safety reserve police
officers.
At the conclusion of each Tapestry Project, a graduation
ceremony is held and everyone is asked to bring food
from their native cultures to share. Partners, stakeholders,
participants, instructors, and community members that take
part are encouraged to invite their family and friends in order
to bridge the gap from classroom instruction to real-world
application. The unique team dynamic shows a community
working together to achieve positive results and build strong
partnerships. This camaraderie is what the Tapestry Project
is all about: we are each threads, woven together in our
community, creating a beautiful tapestry that will last for
generations to come.
Category: Population 50,001 to 100,000
Abington Township Police Department, Abington,
Pennsylvania
1166 Old York Road
Abington, PA 19001
Contact Person: Chief William Kelly
Email: wkelly3007@gmail.com
Phone: 267 228-9795
Agency Head: Chief William Kelly
The Abington Youth Deterrence and Development Project
Abington Township Police Department
Population Served: 56,000
In the early to mid-1990s, youth crime and violence statistics
began to skyrocket in communities across America. At
community meetings, youth-related issues were becoming
the topic that drew the greatest interest, and the officers
working the patrol sectors were reporting more problems with
youth-related crimes. For the members of the Abington Police
Department (APD) and for our customers in the Abington,
PA, community, the youth problem was becoming a primary
concern.
Before the Abington Youth Deterrence and Development
(AYDD) initiative, the APD was structured to efficiently process
and prosecute juvenile offenders, but had very few programs
in place to proactively deter youth from delinquency, drugs,
gangs, etc. The planning and team-building sessions in the
police department, along with the dozens of meetings with
the majority of groups and organizations in Abington, helped
the APD to develop the AYYD Project.
To support this initiative, the APD sought and received the
expertise of local universities to provide rigorous evaluation of
current programs, determine concerns of the APD community,
and help design new strategies to address youth-related
crimes. The APD also partnered with the Abington School
District to develop common strategies and joint resources
for the betterment of the community and its children. As a
result, leaders from the APD and the school district began to
meet with other youth-related organizations to develop a plan
4 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
to identify the most effective, proven, deterrence-oriented
programs that could be implemented.
By virtually every measure, the AYYD Project was a success
from the very beginning of its implementation. Initial surveys
of Abington youth, parents, and the community as a whole
showed an exceptionally positive response toward the
initiative. Within one year of its inception, the initiative received
publicity and many communities and organizations began
asking for presentations about the program or assistance at
replicating it in their community. After the first three years, the
number of juveniles arrested for crimes had decreased by
14.8 percent and Part I crimes were down by 11.5 percent.
In addition, the initial anonymous, self-reporting surveys from
Abington youth showed that the programs were starting to
have the desired affect at reducing a number of negative
behaviors and tendencies among the youth.
Possibly the greatest accomplishment of the AYYD initiative is
that its structure is adaptive enough to quickly and effectively
respond to constantly changing needs and opportunities
facing the Abington community, but also structured so well
that the initiative is just as influential in Abington today, more
than 15 years after its inception.
Category: Population 100,001 to 250,000
Boise Police Department, Idaho
333 North Mark Stall Place
Boise, ID 83704
Contact Person: Anne Wescott
Email: awescott@cityofboise.org
Phone: 208 860-0133
Agency Head: Chief Michael Masterson
Organized Retail Crime Interdiction Team
Boise Police Department
Population Served: 212,000
Observing a shift in crime from neighborhood to business
targets, Boise police strategically utilized the Scanning,
Analysis, Response, and Assessment (SARA) problem-solving
model to identify and address a growing issue with organized
retail crime. In an effort to address this issue, the Boise Police
Department (BPD) developed the Organized Retail Crime
(ORC) Interdiction Team--a unique, innovative, and proactive
community policing partnership between law enforcement
and local and national retail businesses. Leveraging existing
police resources with a network of community partners and
retail loss prevention intelligence, the ORC Interdiction Team
took proactive, co-active, and reactive steps to solve the
crime problem, including:
Educating all stakeholders on emerging trends in organized
retail crimes
Expediting the flow of actionable intelligence information
on known retail theft suspects between retailers and law
enforcement
Providing retail partners with a direct point of contact to
provide for timely response to in-progress suspicious or
criminal retail activity
Strengthening penalties for retail fraud and theft crimes
This community policing solution has resulted in an increase
in public safety, a reduction in financial losses to retail
businesses, and an improved partnership between the
BPD and the local business community. One of the major
obstacles the BPD was able to overcome included bringing
major retailers together to share information despite differing
corporate policies.
Since this team was piloted in 2005, retailers have
experienced a 41 percent reduction in loss to fraud and theft
in Boise as compared to national rates. The department has
been able to apprehend and aid in the conviction of hundreds
of major retail theft suspects every year. Additionally,
intelligence gathered through investigation of retail crimes has
enabled the conviction of suspects in a variety of other felony
crimes.
Boises ORC Interdiction Team partnership has become
a premier model in retail theft interdiction and community
policing for other law enforcement jurisdictions, and a valuable
contributor to the quality of life in Boise, Idaho.
Hamilton Police Service, Ontario, Canada
155 King William Street
Hamilton, Ontario, CA L8N 4C1
Contact Person: Scott Rastin
Email: srastin@hamiltonpolice.on.ca
Phone: 905 540-6240
Agency Head: Chief Nancy Di Gregorio
Social Navigator Program
Hamilton Police Service
Population Served: 525,697
The City of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada, has gone through
dramatic change over the past 20 years with the decline
in the local manufacturing base. This has led to financial
instability and reduction in economic growth, in turn leading to
an increase in violent crime rates. The Hamilton Police Service
5 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
(HPS) responded by increasing patrols in the downtown core,
which led to high enforcement and crime suppression but
also led officers to encounter repeat offenders and at-risk
individuals in need of social services.
HPS worked with the City of Hamilton and Emergency Medical
Services to develop the Social Navigator Program (SNP)a
street-level, proactive wrap-around social service solution
to help break the cycle of arrests. Police officers identify and
refer repeat offenders and at-risk individuals to the social
navigatora social worker and health care professional. The
social navigator interviews the referred individual to determine
the causes for the interaction with police, and then redirects
the client to the most appropriate social agency.
The SNP is achieving its goals to divert individuals away
from the judicial system and is improving the quality of life
for its clients. Police, social services, and the judicial system
have all worked together to embrace the program. A recent
assessment indicates that the SNP has been tremendously
successful at reducing crime and recidivism, has addressed
some of the downtown cores challenges through
collaborative, preventative, and proactive partnerships, and
has the potential to achieve even greater results.
The philosophy and practices of community policing are
deeply integrated into all HPS activities. Working with major
stakeholders, it created the first Community Business Plan
in 1993 to set goals, milestones, and accountability for its
operations. Those plans have evolved to include Addressing
Crime Trends in Our Neighborhoods (ACTION) and the
Community Mobilization Division (CMD), both geared toward
addressing root causes of disorder and initiating community
involvement.
Finalists
Category: Population Under 20,000
Vail Police Department, Colorado
75 South Frontage Road
Vail, CO 81657
Contact Person: Chief Dwight Henninger
Email: dhenninger@vailgov.com
Phone: 970 479-2218
Agency Head: Chief Dwight Henninger
Eagle County Law Enforcement Immigrant Advisory Initiative
Vail Police Department
Population Served: 5,000
There are ongoing debates about immigration, civil rights,
and intelligence gathering that bring issues of trust and
communication between immigrant communities and law
enforcement to the forefront across the nation. Even small
communities like Vail (CO) are not immune. With nearly 20
percent of its population foreign born, and most of those
from Spanish-speaking countries, Vail and its neighbors
in Eagle County saw many communication challenges
between law enforcement and the communitys culturally and
linguistically diverse groups. Even beyond the obvious barrier
of language, there were also high levels of victimization and
low levels of reporting within the Latino community. As in
many communities, negative perceptions of police in general,
as well as specific fears of being targeted or deported,
appeared to keep many immigrants from reporting crimes.
The Vail Police Department also believed that this reluctance
in communication increased the level of both arrests and
victimization within the immigrant community.
The Vail Police Department holds its employees to a standard
duty to treat all people with courtesy, fairness, respect,
and professionalism. In 2009, the police chief approached
the regional coordinator of Catholic Charities to discuss
ways to build trust and increase communication between
local law enforcement and the immigrant community.
Catholic Charities had developed a Community Integration
Services program in 2002 to assist immigrants and alleviate
barriers to self reliance. This project made the faith-based
organization a natural partner in the formation of the Eagle
County Law Enforcement Immigrant Advisory Committee
(LEIAC). Members now include representatives of seven law
enforcement agencies, eight community-based organizations,
and several immigrant advocates.
6 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Initially, the LEIAC members sought to identify the problems
leading to strained police-immigrant relations, and then
developed a multi-phase plan to address those problems.
Distinct roles and responsibilities were also established for
each LEIAC member, with some activities unique to individual
members (such as training for officers on immigration laws
and communicating with non-English speakers) and other
activities shared by all (participation in community workshops
and resource development). A frequently-asked questions
brochure was developed and distributed across the county
in both English and Spanish, addressing a variety of topics
including witnessing and reporting a crime, victimization,
traffic and driving rules and tips, general police activity, and
domestic violence. The LEIAC has subsequently developed
a companion brochure with information on the court
system, workers rights, human trafficking, schools, public
transportation, and healthcare.
Since the LEIAC began, crime reporting by the Latino
community has increased, the percentage of Latinos arrested
has decreased, and the percentage of Latinos victimized
by crime has decreased. The Vail Police Department
believes that these changes are correlated to the community
becoming more comfortable in calling 911 both as victims and
witnesses. Surveys indicate that both law enforcement and
immigrants now rate communication between them as high,
and immigrant community members have anecdotally credited
the work of the LEIAC for their willingness to report crimes.
Through this project, the Vail Police Department has learned
that cultural differences do not have to be divisive, and that
to fully engage the immigrant community, law enforcement
must learn up-close how the immigrant community lives and
perceives the police.
Category: Population 20,001 to 50,000
Madison City Police Department, Alabama
100 Hughes Road
Madison, AL 35758
Contact Person: Larry Muncey
Email: larry.muncey@madisonal.gov,
Phone: 256 772-5670
Agency Head: Chief Larry R. Muncey
Text-to-Protect
Madison City Police Department
Population Served: 45,000
The Madison Police Department (MPD) serves a population
estimated at about 50,000 current residents and a daytime
population of nearly 200,000 commuters and visitors. Most
of the citys growth has occurred within the last ten years as
result of the high-tech industry in the Huntsville, Alabama,
metropolitan area.
In February 2010, a 14-year-old student brought a gun
to Discovery Middle School and shot a fellow 14-year-old
classmate, Todd Brown, in the head. In the wake of that
tragedy, MPD learned that students either did not know how
to communicate with the police or, in most cases, refrained
from communicating with police because of the stigma of
being labeled as a snitch among their peers. MPD realized
that they needed a mechanism for communicating with
students that was immediately accessible to them, easy to
use, provided for two-way communication, and ensured
confidentiality.
In response, the MPD, in partnership with the Madison
City School System and the City Schools Security and
Communications Task Force, established Text-to-Protect,
a text line originally designed for students to provide
information on criminal activity, quality-of-life issues, and
welfare concerns. The Madison City School System helped
to promote Text-to-Protect in all 13 city schools with posters
placed in hallways, classrooms, and meeting places within
the schools. School resource officers (SROs) proved to be
invaluable by educating the students about the purpose and
function of the program. Students learned that they could
seek help or counseling for themselves or friends who were
considering suicide, had problems with depression, eating
disorders, or just needed to find someone to listen to their
concerns. SROs explained that the MPD was committed to
providing a safe learning environment free of criminal activity,
but also genuinely cared about the health and welfare of the
students. MPD also partnered with local businesses and
leadership organizations to provide cost-effective upgrades.
Text-to-Protect officially launched on May 5, 2010. Between
then and December 31, 2012, the MPD has received 1435
texts from citizens as young as eight years old and as old
as 75, with the majority of those coming from the school
system. Text-to-Protect has become a means of identifying
young people who need help coping with lifes hardships. As
a result of the information generated from the tip line, SROs
have made successful interventions with 12 confirmed cases
of students seriously contemplating suicide, three cases of
students with eating disorders, 28 reports of bullying (beyond
one-time incidents), 20 narcotics possession reports, 10
cases of assault, 15 cases of property crime solved (including
thefts and vandalism), 8 reports of weapons in schools
(including firearms and knives), 2 cases of suspected child
abuse, 2 tips regarding locations of runaway juveniles, 9
tips of threats of school violence, and numerous other tips
involving criminal or potential criminal activity in Madison City
7 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Schools. As a result of the programs adoption by the public,
the MPD regularly receives valuable information that leads to
the prevention of criminal activity and the apprehension of
criminal offenders.
One of the most significant lessons learned from the Text-
to-Protect Program and the partnerships that created it is
the importance of police recognition of the importance of the
youth in our communities as stakeholders who can positively
contribute to the departments mission.
St. Louis Park Police Department, Minnesota
3015 Raleigh Avenue South
St. Louis Park, MN 55416
Contact Person: Lori Dreier
Email: ldreier@stlouispark.org
Phone: 952 924-2131
Agency Head: Chief John Luse
Crime-Free Ordinance/Nuisance Abatement
St. Louis Park Police Department
Population Served: 45,500
The suburb of St. Louis Park (MN), just west of Minneapolis,
has long been committed to a service-delivery philosophy
that encourages community partnerships, shared problem-
solving efforts, and attention to livability issues. Through daily
efforts, many effective and long-lasting relationships have
been built between officers and stakeholders throughout the
community. Each patrol officer has geographic ownership
of their assigned patrol district and works to develop
relationships with other city department personnel, citizens,
and business owners in the area.
In 2006, the department received numerous complaints from
citizens regarding tenant behavior in rental properties. It was
known that there were properties throughout the city moving
from owner-occupied to rental status, but that not all rental
properties were identifiable through the city licensing process.
Further hindering the ability to determine the extent of the
problem, the department did not specifically track calls to
rental properties. Initial attempts at analysis indicated a higher
incidence of repeat calls to some rental units, as well as a
higher rate of calls to rental properties compared to owner-
occupied condominiums and townhouses generally.
In order to address both the problem properties as well as
the existing data limitations, the department initiated the
development of an ordinance to address tenant behavior.
Working with representatives from the rental community
such as managers, owners, and tenants as well as other
city departments and neighborhood associations, regular
meetings took place to discuss the implications of a crime-
free ordinance, develop new processes and systems to track
licensing and violations, assign stakeholder responsibilities,
and research the available technologies and model
ordinances.
The St. Louis Park Crime-Free Ordinance was adopted
and implemented in August 2007. One significant role
played by the police department in implementation included
developing and facilitating a mandatory, one-day training for
owners and managers. The training covers topics such as
the details of the ordinance, legal issues, tenant screening,
crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED),
property maintenance, and functioning with the police and
other city services. The department also modified their CAD
system to add rental designations to all licensed addresses
and worked with a software developer to create a system to
track all ordinance activity. This crime-free tracking system
has the ability to send violation letters, track tenants and
violations, store all information related to violation activity
at rental properties, and provide real-time owner and
manager information to patrol officers through a web-based
application.
In the five years since the ordinance has been enacted, the
number of rental units in the city has increased by 9 percent,
but police calls to rental properties has increased by only
5 percent. The percentage of all calls for service to rental
properties has even seen a modest decline over the five-
year analysis. St. Louis Park attributes this improvement to
the progressive and preventative approach of the crime-free
ordinance process and believes that, had it not been in place
during the housing market downturn, there would have been a
damaging effect on the communitys quality of life and safety.
Community surveys indicate that the ordinance has been
well-received by the rental property owners and managers
who see it as a tool for their use. The crime-free ordinance
and tracking system has also proven to be a great asset for
the city, making it attractive to new business and housing
developmentsmultifamily development accounted for 47
percent of the reinvestment money in 2012.
8 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Category: Population 50,001 to 100,000
Duluth Police Department, Minnesota
2030 North Arlington Avenue
Duluth, MN 55811
Contact Person: Susan Campbell
Email: scampbell@duluthmn.gov
Phone: 218 730-5244
Agency Head: Chief Gordon Ramsay
Blight and Nuisance Crime Project
City of Duluth Police Department
Population Served: 86,277
In 2009, two of the six police patrol zones in Duluth (MN)
experienced the greatest increase in crimes, accounting for
61 percent of all disturbances citywide. Crime prevention
rated lowest for satisfaction across Duluths public safety
services in the 2009 National Citizens Survey. Surveys
completed by 535 residents showed that 41 percent felt
somewhat safe from property crime and seven percent
reported being the victim of one or more crimes in the last
year. Blight and nuisance crimes were on the increase.
Chronic offenders were recommitting the same crime multiple
times while awaiting trial or ordered to pay a fine they could
not afford. Attorneys and judges had little or no information or
time to learn about the offender. There was limited indigent
assistance after release, and most offenders suffered from
mental health and chemical and alcohol dependency issues.
To solve this issue, a collaborative partnership between
the Duluth police department and attorneys office was
created. A working group called the Community Intervention
Group (CIG) was established, leading to the creation of
the Blight and Nuisance Crime Project, a program that
improved information sharing on chronic offenders between
prosecutors, judges, and police. The CIG helped locate
resources for indigent and chronic perpetrators of nuisance
crimes, allowing access to resources that could help initiate
reparations of their past. Because of this partnership, there
are fewer repeat offenders, and through this working group,
quick and efficient interventions for offenders are possible.
The 2011 Citizen Survey showed a 2 percent improvement
in how safe citizens felt in the downtown area during the day,
and a 13 percent improvement in the sense of safety citizens
felt in the downtown area after dark as compared to the 2009
Citizen Survey.
The police department strives to develop new community
partnerships daily and enjoys tremendous community support.
The motto of the department is Innovation in Policing, and
the department continues to serve as a proactive member
of the city and community by identifying problems, and then
developing and implementing solutions to improve quality of
life for citizens.
Category: Population 100,001 to 250,000
Dayton Police Department, Ohio
335 West Third Street
Dayton, OH 45402
Contact Person: Brian Johns
Email: brian.johns@daytonohio.gov
Phone: 937 333-7440
Agency Head: Director and Chief of Police Richard S. Biehl
Safe Oasis Prostitution Reduction and Recovery
Dayton Police Department
Population Served: 142,148
Like many other cities scattered throughout America and
abroad, Dayton has continued to struggle with the crime
of prostitution. Traditional prostitution reduction initiatives
focused on arrests and convictions of female prostitutes, but
did very little to reduce these and other associated crimes on
a more permanent basis.
While neighborhood groups and businesses were demanding
action, the Dayton (OH) Police Department was endeavoring
to make more and more arrests to no avail. The majority
of the women prostituting were struggling with chemical
dependency, which drove them to their current lifestyle to
serve as a financial means to support their addiction. To
compound the problem, many of the women were homeless,
staying night to night at various drug houses throughout the
city. The men that came in search of prostitutes were just as
an important of a concern, if not more. Innocent women, and
even young girls, were afraid to walk down the street because
of up-front advancements by men seeking sexual encounters.
Safe Oasis focused on a drastically different approach by
providing life-changing services for the women in an attempt to
reduce their criminal activity. The Dayton Police Department had
to offer the women a path to a better way of liferedemption,
if you will--to encourage them to leave the streets on their
own accord. Through community partnerships, a change to the
perception and acceptance of prostitution in the City of Dayton
occurred. The men who arrived looking for sex would now be
held accountable by the legal system, the police, and citizens.
9 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
The department and their criminal justice partners started
the City of Dayton Johns School, where as a part of their
probation, men who were arrested were required to attend
a non-confrontational educational program on the impacts
and consequences of prostitution. Johns pay to attend this
class, and the funds collected are given to the Oasis House
of Dayton for use toward the support of a residential recovery
center for women involved in prostitution. To house the
homeless prostitutes undergoing treatment, a residential
property was seized from a convicted drug dealer with the
assistance of the U.S. Marshalls Service to be utilized as a
residential recovery center.
Through the collaborative efforts under this initiative, the
number of women arrested for prostitution declined 62.1
percent, while the number receiving support services
quadrupled. The number of men cruising Dayton streets in
search of sexual relations dropped significantly, while crime
prevention efforts produced a 94 percent success rate in
reducing recidivism by males soliciting sex from prostituted
women. The Dayton Police Department is deliberate on
using community policing to foster meaningful community
relationships for this Safe Oasis project.
Grand Prairie Police Department, Texas
1525 Arkansas Lane
Grand Prairie, TX 75052
Contact Person: Steve Dye
Email: ssamples@gptx.org
Phone: 972 237-8710
Agency Head: Chief Steve Dye
Reduction of Crime and Improvement of Quality of Life
Through Community Policing
Grand Prairie Police Department
Population Served: 180,000
Crime in Grand Prairie (TX) was increasing, and the
department was searching for a solution. After a thorough
analysis in 2011, it was apparent that a community policing
philosophy was non-existent, police interaction with
community stakeholders was minimal, cultural awareness
was lacking, and trust among some citizens was low. The
department was operating in a traditional enforcement
capacity focusing on call response and enforcement. As a
longtime advocate of community policing, Grand Prairie Police
Department (GPPD) Chief of Police Steve Dye recognized the
need to clearly redefine the mission, strategies, and direction
for the department and implemented a comprehensive
community policing philosophy for all phases of service
delivery. Numerous discussions focused on the importance of
force multiplying and the idea that true excellence in policing
is only accomplished when interested stakeholders are
participants in the process.
A shared leadership team (SLT) was formed with sworn
and civilian representatives and focused on the benefits
of and opportunities for community policing. The SLT
subsequently worked with command staff to write a new
mission statement: The Grand Prairie Police Department is
dedicated to service and partnering with our community to
maintain a safe environment with a high quality of life. This
statement demonstrates the focus of community policing as
a departmental philosophy. Further collaboration resulted in
a value statement identifying commitment as service through
community partnerships, innovation, and a holistic approach to
policing.
This initial collaborative effort set the foundation for a
GPPD cultural change from a traditional policing agency
to a community policing agency. The holistic approach of
improving quality of life in the community now involves the
identification of stakeholders at every available opportunity.
The mission statement and values led to a three-part
strategic plan focusing on commitment to intelligence-led
policing, a mindset of a higher level of community policing
and comprehensive service delivery in all areas of the
organization, and the identification of career offenders. It is
now well-known throughout GPPD that the phrases, we
cant help you, theres nothing we can do, or this is a civil
matter are never uttered.
GPPDs community policing philosophy has enabled the
department to reach out to residents and be more sensitive
to issues that impact each group. This holistic approach to
policing has been accepted as the departments philosophy
as a result of officers seeing how this has led to lower crime
and an improved image of their department both locally
and regionally. In just over a year and a half, many outreach
programs have been implemented to support the community
policing philosophy. The focus on high levels of service
have culminated in significant crime reduction, improved
collaboration with community members, and reduced
complaints on officers. The departments holistic community
policing approach garnered quick results. In 2012, crime
decreased by 24 percentthe largest historical decline for the
departmentcommunity participation with police increased,
and complaints against officers decreased. Officers and
citizens are excited about the positive influence of community
policing, and this newfound enthusiasm has fostered a deeper
commitment to the provision of a safer environment.
10 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Category: Population Over 250,000
Hong Kong Police, China
No.1 Arsenal Street
Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island, China
Contact Person: Chow Kwok-kee
Email: kkchow@police.gov.hk
Phone: 852 860-6572
Agency Head: Tsang Wai-hung
Project New Dawn
Hong Kong Police Department
Population Served: 7,000,000
Hong Kong is a diverse and densely populated city. The Hong
Kong Police Force (HKP) has realized that a regular exchange
between the police and the community is essential for fighting
crime, and community policing has evolved to meet the needs
of the public as an integral part of HKPs vision, common
purpose, and values. Reaching out to the community and
listening to public views are one of the key priorities of the
HKP. Beat officers work to maintain good relationships with
the local community by establishing mobile centers to collect
opinions, distribute anti-crime leaflets, and conduct crime-
trend questionnaires with the residents.
In 2010, Kwai Chung Division received the second-highest
calls for service involving persons with mental disorders,
making up 11 percent of all police calls. Several high-profile
events involving persons with mental disorders attacking other
citizens resulted in deaths and alarmed Hong Kong citizens.
As a result, HKP stepped in with Project New Dawn to provide
help to persons with mental illnesses and to prevent related
tragic events from happening.
Project New Dawn is a multi-agency referral and cooperation
program. The program involves different departments of the
police force, along with the Social Welfare Department, non-
governmental organizations, hospitals, and medical experts.
The police are always the first to respond to any event and an
officers observation to identify any high-risk subjects can be
essential. Under this initiative, medical experts provide training
to frontline officers. The training objectives are to provide
frontline officers with the understanding of psychological
behavior of persons with mental-illness and those with
disorders. Techniques are also taught to more accurately
identify high-risk subjects and determine appropriate
measures to handle the subjects.
The moment an officer arrives at a scene and encounters a
person who may have a mental illness, or is in distress, he or
she will first look for any indication of violent behavior or risks
and conduct a background and history check of the subject.
If there is immediate danger, the subject will promptly be sent
to the hospital for medical treatment. To better equip frontline
officers with knowledge of persons with mental illness or
distress, elements and definitions of what constitutes a
mental disorder were taught. Officers are now able to make
better judgment with a stronger understanding of established
medical definitions of a mentally disordered person.
Each day, a meeting headed by a superintendent of police is
held to review all calls for service to determine if they involve
mental illness or high risk. Meeting participants determine
if any further follow-up action is needed. If suitable, the
individual involved in the call will be placed under Project New
Dawn and a referral process to the social welfare department
or non-governmental organizations will begin. A team of
trained police officers will start an initial three-month follow up
with the individual, who will be monitored on a regular basis
through phone conversations and personal visits.
Project New Dawn has been a great success, with cases
involving mentally disordered individuals dropping 56 percent
after the first year of implementation. The seriousness of the
cases declined as well. Families of the individuals involved
in the project have been very supportive, pressures and
workloads on medical staff have decreased, and Project New
Dawn has been adopted by every district in Hong Kong.
Special Recognition
Homeland Security
Colorado State Patrol
700 Kipling Street
Lakewood, CO 80215
Contact Person: Matthew Packard
Email: matthew.packard@state.co.us
Phone: 303 273-1634
Agency Head: Colonel Scott Hernandez
Community Awareness Program
Colorado State Patrol
Population Served: 5,200,000
The Colorado State Patrol manages the Colorado Information
Analysis Center (CIAC), Colorados Fusion Center. One of the
biggest challenges that the CIAC faced was educating the
public effectively on how they can play a role in keeping their
communities safe. CIACs solution was to partner with the
11 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (CELL), a nonprofit
institution, to develop and implement an interactive training
initiative to convey the necessary information.
Together, the CIAC and CELL created the Community
Awareness Program (CAP), which provides citizens with
the tools needed to help prevent terrorism and criminal
activity. It has been an engaging solution to the homeland
security threats we face today and incorporates the principles
of community policing through partnership. Designed in
accordance with, and in support of, the national If You See
Something, Say Something campaign, the CAP has been
the leading program in educating the public on how they can
continue to support their local law enforcement by recognizing
and reporting suspicious behavior.
More than 400 public safety officials from 150 agencies
across Colorado are certified CAP trainers. As a result, the
CIAC has been able to train over 2500 citizens throughout
the state thus far, and that number continues to grow on a
weekly basis. Since the launch of the CAP, the CIAC has seen
an increase in the quality of reports made to the CIAC from
members of the public. Because of the direct interaction and
standardized curriculum, investigators are better equipped
to investigate and confirm the nature of the reported
activity. The CAP has been recognized and awarded for its
effectiveness in community safety training. It was featured
nationally as a Fusion Center Best Practice by the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department
of Justice through the Lessons Learned Information Sharing
(LLIS) Program. It has also been recognized by FEMA
through its Individual and Community Preparedness Award for
Innovative Training and Education Programs.
12 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.