I attended the Independence Division - CMPD Safe Community Forum on Thursday night. It was well worth it. 250 citizens attended and numerous police officers, investigators, detectives, media and others filled the sanctuary of the Garr Memorial Church.When we arrived, a police officer met us at the door and gave us name tags, information on the Independence Division, contacts and a survey for us to share our thoughts with police. CMPD's Chief Darrel Stephens welcomed us and spoke about the redistricting of CMPD patrol divisions. He told us the redistricting has shown successful in each division. Stephens said CMPD's response time has improved by one minute, police have increased traffic stops by 69% and they have seen an increase in field interviews by 600%.
After the Chief finished speaking, Captain David Poston of the Independence Division spoke specifically about the Independence Division goals and initiatives for 2007. In addition, he spoke about specific crime issues within our district and how the police are working to fix the problems.
Captain Poston finished speaking and we were led down the hallway to the classroom area of the church. Police had refreshments ready and we were separated according to where we lived within the district. After everyone was seated in their separate rooms, we were introduced to the community officers who work in our area. Three topics were discussed; Our top crime concerns within our community, how CMPD can better engage he community and if we had any suggestions on how CMPD can better serve us. It was a 45 minute open discussion and we were able to talk to the officers freely, ask questions and speak our minds.
The forums ended and we went back to the church sanctuary. The feedback we gave in the forums was shared to the whole group by different police officers. A lot of the concerns we had among the groups were similar. Residents in the Independence Division are most concerned with burglaries, juvenile crime, crime occurring around Section 8 housing and noise problems.
Chief Stephens closed the meeting assuring us our concerns would be addressed by the police department. He encouraged us to contact police when we see suspicious activity, keep valuables out of our cars and do what we can to help cut crime in our community. I strongly recommend attending your district's Safe Community Forum. I learned a lot, met some neighbors and I was able to voice my concerns.
* CMPD's Community Forum Schedule *