Community Policing Unit

Supervisor:

Mission Statement

The mission of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS) Community Policing Special Unit is to identify crime trends that negatively impact the Quality of Life within the various City Neighborhoods and to develop Action Plans that aggressively attack those trends.

The KDPS Community Policing Special Unit identifies crime trends that negatively impact the quality of life within the various city neighborhoods, they develop enforcement plans to address those trends, and coordinate city and other resources in the implementation of the plans.

The KDPS Community Policing Special Unit uses a variety of methods to address neighborhood problems and increase community relationships including: foot patrols, bicycle patrol, plain clothes operations, fully marked and unmarked car patrols, contact at area schools with teachers and students, and giving presentations on an array of topics, mostly geared toward crime prevention and personal safety awareness.

The Community Police Officers (CPO's) maintain a line of communication with neighborhood directors and associations to stay apprised of problems and priorities of the neighborhoods, so they can be addressed in a timely manner.

Community Policing is a philosophy of policing intended to reduce crime and the fear of crime.  It improves the Quality of Life by encouraging a partnership between Public Safety and the citizens of the community to develop a cohesive effort to solve problems creatively.  Community Policing strives to involve the citizens for input, information and assistance, leading to greater understanding and partnership.

COMMUNITY POLICING INITIATIVES

In addition to the primary directive of strict enforcement, community-policing initiatives of Blight Enforcement, Mentoring, and Reducing part one Crime are the top three priorities.

In 2012, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS) Community Policing Unit was comprised of one (1) Sergeant, Four (4) Community Police Officers (CPO), two (2) Kalamazoo Transportation Center Officers, one (1) DKI officer, and one (1) School Resource Officer assigned to Loy Norrix High School.