Community Based policing?

Have you ever heard of the term "Community Based Policing"? Do you have an opinion of what it is? If you said it is officers working with a neighborhood to solve a particular crime problem, or an officer attending a Block Watch meeting to share crime prevention tips, or an officer eradicating a neighborhood drug problem you are right on. Each is an example of Community Based Policing. By engaging in Community Based Policing the police department's role will continue to have a direct impact on improving the quality of life for each resident.

The Challenge

All department employees are challenged to propose new and innovative service improvements. The Phoenix Police Department's Enhanced Patrol Deployment Program is being developed to assist officers and the community to improve our neighborhoods. Implementing the program will be a seamless process with little if any disruption to the services already provided by the police department. The program will help both residents and business owners have even more access to the officers who work within their neighborhoods.

The Focus

The primary focus of the program is to give the officers who work in your neighborhood a feeling that they belong there, of ownership, or what we call "Beat Accountability". With the reassignment of certain officers already assigned to the patrol precincts, uniformed patrol officers will be better equipped to handle the vast majority of calls without having to request specialized officers. If specialized service is needed to solve a particular neighborhood challenge, officers from the Gang Squad, VICE Enforcement, Drug Enforcement, and/or traffic enforcement will still be able to respond to your neighborhood. Each precinct will have four Community Action Officers to complement the Crime Free Multi Housing officer and the Abatement officer already assigned to the precinct.

Resources and Support

The city of Phoenix continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. To meet that challenge, the community has supported the costs associated with adding new officers. As the department grows, new officers are primarily assigned to patrol duty as first responders. Through Enhanced Patrol Deployment, the size of patrol squads will be increased so that officers, instead of responding from call to call, will have the resources to take the necessary steps to solve neighborhood problems. Beat officers will attend Block Watch and neighborhood association meetings within the beat they work. If a situation arises that needs additional officers or long term enforcement strategies, precinct supervisors will be able to create a team of officers from those that work from within the neighborhood to solve the challenge. Officers, regardless of the hours and days they work, will have ownership. Solving the situation will generate a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Accountability

Another feature of Enhanced Patrol Deployment is that existing beats will be reduced in geographical size. Since more officers will be assigned to each squad, officers will be provided the opportunity to become better acquainted with the people that make up neighborhoods.

A "Beat Accountability" (another term for Enhanced Patrol Deployment) test project has been extremely successful in our Central City Precinct. Residents are so pleased that surrounding neighborhoods are asking for the program to be expanded to their neighborhoods. Some of the police officers assigned to the project are so convinced it works that they have passed up opportunities to transfer to another assignment.

We are excited about the potential of this program, our continued service improvements, and our future interaction with you. If you have any comments or questions about the Enhanced Patrol Deployment Program please call Assistant Police Chief Mike Frazier at (602) 262-7005 or Lieutenant A.B. Smith at (602) 534-1442.