The PSCAC, having collected and reviewed the various opinions and suggestions from around the community, tender the following recommendations for improvement of safety within Takoma Park. These recommendations are not intended to be comprehensive, nor exclusionary. They are offered as citizen guidance for the use of the City Council and City Departments.

« Increase Community Outreach

Traditionally, police have been reactive, responding to calls. As Takoma Park moves toward COP, our Police Department is developing closer ties with the residents of our City. The Department's emphasis is changing from its enforcement orientation toward one of crime prevention.

"COP also means the police are not only enforcers, but also advisors, facilitators and supporters of the new community based initiatives."

This growth requires many changes, over time. The PSCAC recommends a continued transition towards a much stronger COP orientation than is currently used in Takoma Park.

Our highly dedicated officers historically have provided excellent service to Takoma Park. Response times to calls have been reliably low. Officers deal with residents in a professional and polite manner. Takoma Park residents have benefited from this dedication and commitment.

As we move toward COP, the beat officers should be asked to "adopt a neighborhood." This is a request for our officers to extend their protection services beyond law enforcement to include crime prevention. With a commitment from the officers, toward this goal expansion, there is no doubt that citizens will feel more secure.

These beat officers, who will continue to respond to calls, will also implement ideas that solicit the cooperation of the residents of "their" neighborhoods. Attending civic association meetings will not be done to fill an order from above. The officers will attend the meetings to gather information they can use to meet their goal, crime prevention.

Beat officers will become interested in meeting the residents of "their" neighborhoods, because these are the people who will help them identify problems, recognize patterns and set priorities. Officers will soon view riding in their cruisers as an impediment to learning what they need to know to meet their expanded COP goal.

The officers will no longer be content to remove an offender from the street. The officers will be challenged to keep the offenders out of future trouble. At risk juveniles will not only learn that illegal activity is unacceptable, but they will be offered an alternative. Furthermore, they will be encouraged down the right path by one of the most influential forces in our community, the beat officers.

The officers will identify the obstacles to their successful reduction in crime. There is no doubt that they will find creative ways to overcome these obstacles, just as they successfully enforce the law today.

One of the challenges facing the Police Department is the change in organizational structure and administrative processes that are required to fully implement COP. Beat officers in the field have great responsibility without direct oversight. This has always required extensive training and mentoring.

Recognizing this complexity, COP does not just address how officers deal with the residents of their jurisdictions. Instead, COP requires changes to the structure and processes of the police departments to better deal with this complexity. "Sergeants, for example, become mentors and coaches, not overseers. Their focus is on assisting officers in solving neighborhood problems, not adherence to organizational rules."

The Takoma Park shift Sergeants should be given goals and direction that move them toward a stronger emphasis on mentoring. These goals should support the crime prevention emphasis, without degrading the current response to calls.

The Sergeants have extensive experience on the street. This experience is of immeasurable value to the success of COP in Takoma Park. With the relative low age of our police force, the street experience of the Sergeants is a key to maintaining our Department's historic high quality.

With increasing interest in crime prevention, the Sergeants guidance to the beat officers should greatly enhance the prospects of success for COP.

The beat Officers and Sergeants will work as teams to prevent crimes in the City's neighborhoods, while continuing to respond to calls for service. This increase in responsibilities will require creative solutions from the teams, so that the current high quality service is not degraded as the City moves to fuller implementation of COP.

The teams should meet on a periodic basis to exchange ideas and share information. In time, the teams will probably identify special, common, shared needs. When this happens they should recommend solutions to the command staff, such as the implementation of special duty officers or teams.

For example, Takoma Park has previously found a Youth Officer beneficial in working with City youth and finding diversionary programs for teenagers. Reinstitution of a Youth Officer or implementation of other specialized assignments should be considered, as the need is recognized.

Another example might occur if a beat officer identified a crime problem that required special, intensive investigation or action. A tactical team might best provide the person power required to resolve the problem.

Other examples are: an immigrant outreach officer, commercial business officer, and domestic violence specialist. Any required specialty should be considered. The group must prioritize their needs and consider resources before making their recommendations. Existing special assignments should always be considered for replacement by new, higher priority needs.

At no time should these special duty officers or teams strive to replace the beat Officers' responsibility for outreach to "their" neighborhood. These special assignments are intended as supplemental resources to help the beat officers address specific problems.

As the beat Officers, Sergeants and other City personnel are given new responsibilities to address COP, it is imperative that the goals be documented. When written, measurable goals are presented with an assignment, everyone understands what is expected of them. If there are any questions, the goals can be clarified before it is too late.

Upon receipt of new goals, each person should then plan the course of action that will ensure that they meet the goals set out for them. This plan should also be documented as measurable objectives, since it is completion of these steps that will accomplish the goal.

When written, the goals should be presented with the time that the goals are to be obtained. When that time arrives, all interested parties can then determine whether the goals have been attained, using the measurements defined when the goals were originally written. Ideally, rewards would be given for success.