Community policing has been around for many years now. It’s been adopted by numerous police agencies throughout the country and the world, and has proven to be an effective way to help keep our communities safe. The basic concept of community policing is to establish a partnership between the police and the community to work together to help keep our community a safe place to live. It allows police to work with the residents, business organizations (both public and private), schools, social service agencies, citizen groups etc. to address local concerns and move toward long-term solutions to crime related problems. By having the community involved gives us more eyes and ears out there to help keep us informed of problems or concerns.

We at the Perry Township Police Department believe strongly in the community policing concept and are committed to making Perry Township the safest community possible for everyone to live, play, work and enjoy their lives.  Each officer is aware that engaging themselves in the community builds a stronger bond between themselves, our department, and the citizens they serve.  Each officer is encouraged to stop and interact wih residents and businesses while out on patrol. It was found that this gives a resident more personal engagement with the officers and allows residents to feel more comfortable voicing neighborhood concerns.  This is also an opportunity to have a safety check of the residence done, keep the residents up to date on crime trends in their neighborhood, and provide updates on police matters and any other topics a resident wishes to discuss.

Goals of Community Policing

A major strategy proposed by the plan to meet the goals is to establish a community policing program in Perry Township. We believe this approach will best serve the public safety needs of the Perry Township community and make it a safe place for people to live, work, play and go to school. Our plan for an effective community policing program is as follows:

• Empower the people of Perry Township to resist crime and unsafe conditions, resolve the root issues underlying social ills, and create a safe community that is well informed on public safety issues.
• Provide an adequate response to “quality of life” complaints in the community without reducing the department’s capability to continue to respond appropriately to emergencies.
• Establish partnerships with schools, social service agencies, citizen groups, etc., for the purpose of developing effective prevention strategies.
• Reduce the demand for future police, fire and emergency medical services by working closely with the people to address the causes of public safety concerns
• Reduce the fear of crime.
• Increase the capacity of the department to engage citizens and community groups in day-to-day problem- solving and prevention activities, while maintaining full response capabilities and relieving certified personnel from tasks not requiring their particular training or expertise.
• Furnish the township with a group of the most highly trained, professional, courteous and respectful employees who are committed to serving and protecting the constitutional rights, lives and property of everyone who lives, works, plays and attends school in Perry Township.