Community Oriented Policing enables Chatham County Police Department to serve and rely on community members for the benefit of all

For many of us, when we walk out the door to go to work, we’re sent off with words like “Have a great day” or “Be careful” or “Go get’em!”  For every CCPD officer, the beginning of every single watch and every patrol begins with the words “Community Oriented Policing.” 

It has been their watchword, their mantra, and their overarching directive since the department was stood up seven years ago.  It sums up the expectation that the officers who serve our community intentionally make positive, friendly contact with the members of the community in order to build real relationships.  Every. Day.  It is their primary directive for being a force for good in the community, for being a police force who knows what their community needs.  Community Oriented Policing enables them to both serve and rely on community members effectively.

In addition to communitywide engagement, the officers of CCPD actively support more localized efforts to bring good things to various neighborhoods or populations. They’re there for any neighborhood that wants to participate in National Night Out.  You might have an opportunity to chat in person with CCPD command staff at a Coffee With A Cop pop-up event at a Starbucks or McDonalds.  They’re right there with their counterparts from other law enforcement agencies, handing out goodwill and candy at Halloween With Heroes.  They’re sending kids from lower income neighborhoods off to school each year with brand new backpacks stuffed with supplies and snacks.  They pair up with deserving students nominated by their school counselors for a holiday breakfast and a morning of Shopping With A Cop that allows the students to buy gifts for family or needed items for themselves.  They’re working behind the scenes with church and women’s organizations to fill baskets of food for families who might not otherwise have the most bountiful holidays.  And they have the honor every year of escorting families from the local Ronald McDonald House on a Shop With A Cop expedition funded by a local radio station’s listeners to provide these patients and their families with some holiday joy.

Community Oriented Policing extends beyond the good times like these.  At the worst of times, during critical events, CCPD’s Behavioral Health Unit is onsite to intervene when a community member is experiencing a crisis, and their involvement continues with support afterwards.  The BHU’s coordinator, Sergeant Hiram Rivera attests that by taking the time to make and strengthen connections with residents experiencing crisis situations, the BHU is able to look beyond a critical situation to identify the roots of problems and to find paths to possible resolutions.  They invest the time in active listening, so that they can assist with obtaining appropriate services, rebuilding relationships, replacing harmful actions with healthy ones, and making long-term sustainable changes to prevent recurrences. 

Like the other examples of CCPD’s culture of caring, this focus on community relationships causes a ripple effect that has positive impacts on individuals, families, neighborhoods, employment or judicial situations, and the community as a whole.  It’s also the reason CCPD internships are full every year and why officers like Captain Dean Fagerstrom will tell you with pride and gratitude, “This is who we are.  This is the only thing I want to do with my life.”