Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell this week presented a 34-page improvement plan to City of Tacoma leaders, culminating more than eighteen months of effort.Among the document's 36 priorities is a mentoring program, performance evaluations at all levels, training in law enforcement techniques as well as management, a crime analysis unit, an upgraded forensics department and a more effective patrol schedule.
Other priorities identified in the report include:
- Develop a comprehensive plan to use data in crime management
- Create a progressive information technology department that capitalizes on technology
- Create and implement a leadership review process
- Create a method to address and track community needs
- Integrate community-oriented policing into all job functions
- Create ways for citizens to become involved and participate in reducing crime
- Strengthen community and city partnerships to solve and prevent crimes
- Develop effective external public relationships and a marketing campaign
Ramsdell has worked to rebuild Tacoma’s trust in its police since 2003, when then-Chief David Brame fatally shot his wife, then killed himself. He’s long been a proponent of community-oriented policing, and the plan calls for strengthening those ties and builds on programs and partnerships that have shown success.
One of those partnerships is with the BIA. As part of the renewal process, the BIA Board of Directors is developing a budget to underwrite the cost of one FTE officer salary beginning in May 2008. That line item and the broader relationship between the City and the district will be the subject of a good deal of discussion during the next few months.
In the "Broken Windows" book, they suggest that crime can be reduced by focusing more on community based policing rather than overemphasizing response times which often yeild very little.
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