NCJ Number
173166
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 46 Issue: 4 Dated: April 1998 Pages: 100-103
Date Published
1998
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article provides an overview of the structure, staffing, hiring, training, and operations of the Woodland Park Police Department (Colorado), a small department that implements the community policing philosophy.
Abstract
Woodland Park, located 60 miles south of Denver, has 18 commissioned officers, 13 reserves, 6 civilian dispatch personnel, a civilian secretary, and an animal control officer, yielding a ratio of 3.7 commissioned officers per 1,000 population. Officers are trained to implement problem-oriented policing and work in cooperation with citizens to prevent and respond appropriately to crime. Client-related operations include on-site robbery and anti-crime training at banks and other retail establishments; seminars for business people; and a fax hotline to notify merchants in the event of shoplifting, check writers, or ongoing con games. To control juvenile crime, a partnership has been established with the schools to conduct activities that allow officers and students to interact in a positive and informal manner. The department is organized into patrol and investigation sections. As the result of a U.S. Justice Department grant under the Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement program, two teams of officers and citizen victim advocates work out of the investigations section. These teams investigate and attempt to resolve cases of family violence. A 24-hour police-only communications center has six civilian dispatchers. In order to maximize services, the agency cooperates with other police agencies of similar size in adjoining counties.