Police chief details public safety enhancement at city commission meeting

By Craig Sudeikis
Western Herald

Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Police Chief Jeffery Hadley presented the details for the public safety enhancement work plan, which focuses on community strength, at the city commission meeting that was held on Sept. 29.

“This work plan defines specific plans of action with three critical themes: keep our residents safe, help our residents feel safe and treat all of our residents fairly and with respect,” Hadley said.
The plan, adopted in April 2007, will rely heavily on community based policing, neighborhood based data and the CompStat model of approach.

CompStat is a crime analysis and police management process that detects trends in criminal activity making it easier for officers to allocate resources to trouble spots.

Hiring and recruiting are top priorities of Hadley’s plan. He plans to hire almost 50 percent of the agency in the next five to seven years.

“We have an unbelievable opportunity here over the next five to seven years to really shape the makeup and culture of Kalamazoo and build a sustainable organization [lasting] long after my tenure as chief is over,” Hadley said.

A big part of community-based recruiting is the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Explorers. Explorers are young adults between the ages of 14 and 21 who would like to pursue any segment of law enforcement as a career.

Hadley spoke of breaking barriers in recruitment and hiring as a way to have a more community-based agency. He told the story of a young man who couldn’t afford to put himself through the fire or police academy, but just wanted an opportunity.

“That doesn’t mean lower standards, that doesn’t mean anything, it just means giving them opportunities they don’t have and that’s on us to do that,” Hadley said.

Hadley ended the presentation by asking for the community’s help in the final step of cultural unity.

“Cultural competency—we like to talk about that and we throw that out there … but what I want to hear from the community is how do we close that gap?” Hadley said. “I want to hear from the community.”

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=964

Posted by HeraldAdmin on Sep 30 2008. Filed under Local, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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