Community Oriented Policing Services in Selma, Alabama

The leadership of the Selma Police Department will actively seek involvement from schools, churches, and other civic organizations. By developing a community policing strategy, we will facilitate a community effort  to create awareness and show a public presence in the community. This will be done by utilizing the Neighborhood Bike Response Team, Neighborhood Liaison Officers, and Community Engagment Coordinator(s) within high crime areas. The Selma Police Department  hopes to reduce crime by forcing criminals out of targeted areas who conduct unlawful activities within our community. The Selma Police Department's commitment to community policing will be measured through internal review. The review will be conducted department-wide, to include all uniform patrol, executive, and civilian staff. Neighborhood watch groups will be developed to help speak about an initiative regarding see something say something approach, with hopes in lowering violence and criminal activities in our high crime areas. We will have community engagement forums and surveys that will collect data from citizens anonymously to attempt to gauge a true assessment of the feelings and the needs within their community.  All information will be used to develop new ways to incorporate community relationships between the police department and civilians.

The most effective method of laying the ground work for change is based on the SARA method as recommended by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. SARA is a four-stage problem-solving process model that has proven to be effective in identifying and prioritizing problems in a community. The steps involved are Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment. The current local issue is not just a problem for the target areas but also the City of Selma at large.