As we begin 2020, it's important to pause and reflect on the accomplishments of the Phoenix Police Department from this past year. Many of our achievements are improvements to our department and community that will be building blocks to even more growth in the future.
The City of Phoenix continues to become a safer place to live and work with both overall violent crime and property showing decreases from last year. This information is important because it reflects our day-to-day mission and helps us gauge where resources are needed.
As promised, our commitment to transparency is moving forward with both body-worn cameras and quicker communication to the public on high-profile situations.
We fast tracked the roll out of body worn cameras to document the nearly 900,000 interactions our officers have with the public each year. All patrol officers and sergeants are now equipped with the technology. Additional cameras will be rolled out soon to our Special Assignments Unit as well as our Transportation and Airport Bureaus bringing our body worn camera numbers to 2,200.
In October we began sharing Critical Incident Briefing videos with the community on social media and the police department website. These summary videos are transparent with up-to-date facts, images and audio recordings about officer involved shootings. To date we've shared three of these transparency videos with others currently in production.
We implemented a new protocol for responding to both victims of crime and other innocent community members as recommended by an Ad Hoc committee. Our Post Critical Incident Community Outreach Team responds to these crises, providing resources from mental health experts, detectives from our Community Response Squad and trained professionals from the Phoenix Fire Department Crisis Response Program to follow up with directly impacted community members and neighborhoods.
Providing appropriate help for mental and behavior health is a top priority for Mayor Kate Gallego and the Phoenix City Council. The police department has embraced their call for action, launching with early success a pilot program where our 911 dispatchers can divert calls to appropriate mental health resources to assist the community member in crisis. For the first time, a medically trained behavioral health expert rides with officers from our Crisis Intervention Team. We expect strong results, benefitting the community this year.
We have recruits counting down the days until they are sworn in as officers and dozens more entering the Police Academy each month. Modernization of our training is better preparing officers for the challenges of 21st century policing. Rather than using a militaristic style of training, new recruits are embracing a more involved, contemporary and adult learning model focused on communication skills, empathy, and stress management. This new training model highlights making well thought out decisions in highly charged situations.
Tragedy struck on March 21, 2019 when we lost Officer Paul Rutherford. He was hit by a car, responding to a call for service. Paul's nearly 23 years of service was summed up when the Desert Horizon School renamed their library in his honor, calling him “a hero and role model." A fitting honor for a man who lived and gave his life for the community he loved.
This past year also included several high-profile incidents that brought unfavorable attention to the department. Life is a never-ending learning process. I believe authenticity requires us to learn from today, so we can improve for tomorrow.
Through it all, the Phoenix Police Department continues to serve our community every hour of the day and in every corner of the city. As your chief, I have said before that the police and the community should be one cohesive group of people working toward peace and safety. We have a long-standing relationship working closely with a dozen community advisory boards who regularly give us feedback, both good and bad, to strengthen our work throughout the city. I am proud of our growth as an agency and happy to have achieved the goals which I set when I first took this responsibility.
Finally, I credit our accomplishments and ability to bond together during the highs and lows to the men and women of the Phoenix Police Department. They are some of the most devoted and forward-looking employees I've ever worked with. This diverse group who represent our city will help us build a strategic vision for 2020 and beyond. From patrol officers, to detectives, crime lab staff and our 911 operators, I am asking them to share with me what priorities and goals they believe we should set as an organization to make where they work the very best it can be for themselves, their co-workers and most importantly the community we serve.
I know we all share the same desire to make Phoenix a safer, better place. This continues to be my goal and I remain optimistic, knowing the best is yet to come.
God bless and be safe.
Chief Jeri Williams
