Community Policing: A Case Study

A focus on the call volume received by the police department has been presented implicating a need to reallocate funding for vacant positions rather than filling them. It is the opinion of some individuals that this is indicative of the reduced need for the number of officers allocated to the police department. Consequently, the reduced number of calls for service reflect the opposite. A common goal shared by law enforcement agencies across the nation is to reduce the crime rates as well as their calls for service. The Chief of Police, Roger Overholt, has implemented policies increasing community policing throughout the city. This community policing approach encourages officers to interact more with the public by conducting foot patrols in strategic locations, increased patrol through neighborhoods as well as shopping centers. These efforts have …show more content…
The budget then was also balanced on the backs of the employees. There were few options given to the staff during this time, essentially, we were told the city was planning to lay off employees to assist with the situation. In an effort to avoid losing personnel both the Police Department and the Fire Department employees voluntarily agreed to reduce the work hours they were compensated for, agreed not to submit overtime, moreover, some even worked shifts without submitting for compensation. Since the only member of the current council that was here during this crisis was Mrs. Kay Senter, I would not expect any of you to be aware of the sacrifices made during that time. Consequently, Mr. Alvis may have been an employee of the City during this time, I do not recall. In addition to the reduced hours of compensation, the City also cut step raises and tuition reimbursement among other incentives. The employees were promised that things would improve if they would only stand steadfast in their