Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook announces in the department’s continuing efforts to strengthen community policing, transparency and accountability, four CPD officers are attending various national conferences as part of the 21st Century Policing initiative.
Major Rick Hines, Commander in charge of CPD’s Administrative Unit to include, the crime analysis unit the records department, and Captain George Drafts, commander of the Professional Standards / Internal Affairs Unit, are at the White House for the invitation-only, Police Data Initiative (PDI) conference.
According to The White House website, (PDI) is ‘a community of practice that includes leading law enforcement agencies, technologists, and researchers committed to improving the relationship between citizens and police through uses of data that increase transparency, and community trust.’
Under the ‘Building Trust and Legitimacy’ policing pillar, CPD is committed to the PDI with plans to purchase the technology necessary to enable submission of agency data to the Public Safety Open Data Portal. The datasets to be submitted to the portal are calls for service, officer use of force incidents, and assaults on police officers.
Progress is also being made with the release of two, detailed internal affairs offering a transparent look at the annual functions of the CPD including:
Mission, Vision, and Core Values
Calls for Service/Citizen Encounters
Arrests
Use of Force Incidents
Shootings in the City
Vehicle Pursuits
Internal/ Citizen Complaints with Dispositions Complaint Process
Internal Affairs Unit
Chief Holbrook says, “We all need better data to fully understand what’s happening in our communities. Sharing police data with those we serve helps them understand what we do and ultimately leads to better community-police engagement.”
Deputy Chief Melron Kelly is attending the African American Mayors Association’s (AMA) Annual Conference in Crystal City, Virginia. This year’s theme is ‘The Urgency of Now,”
Under the ‘Policy and Oversight’ pillar, municipal agencies are meeting to discuss best practices and strategies to influence policy making within city government, law enforcement and other city/county agencies.
According to the AMA’s website, the two-day conference connects mayors, federal government officials, AAMA Business Council partners, and others every year to focus on positive police and community engagement
Also, Robert Calby, Sergeant of South Region’s Community Response Team is attending the “Rank and File Forum,” focusing on officer safety, wellness and morale which are part of policing Pillar 6.
True to CPD’s motto, we have made great strides towards “policing excellence through community partnerships and will continue to meet the challenges and opportunities of policing in the 21st century,” Chief adds.
For a closer look at the CPD’s Implementation Plan, CLICK HERE.