We currently have 14 community policing substations throughout the
city with more in the planning stages. We call our substations
COACT
which stands for "COmmunity
ACTion."
For information on a COACT
in your area visit the
Precincts page and click on your precinct.
Join the MPD's
CITYWATCH/MIDSOUTH ALERT
CITIZEN NOTIFICATION SYSTEM
Click here to
sign up to be a member of
CITYWATCH
-
PROMPT
-
ACCURATE
-
AUTOMATIC
When
emergency situations arise, you want to be informed.
Through City
Watch, the Memphis Police Department will alert citizens
immediately of
important information through a computerized messaging system.
Enroll at no cost!
Here is a brief
overview of some of our Community Policing Programs:
Citizen's Police Academy
Introduced in the South Precinct in 1994, the Citizen's Police
Academy has now been introduced into each of the six precincts
throughout the city. Enrollment in the Academy is open to all
citizens and as its popularity has grown so has the waiting list for
attending the ten week course.
The Citizen's Police Academy, which is held twice a week for two and
a half hours, is led by officer/instructors from different bureaus
within the Department. Topics covered include: Gang Awareness,
Communications, Vehicle Theft, Crisis Intervention, Sex
Crimes/Juvenile Abuse, Patrol Procedures, and Crime Prevention.
As Academy participants become more familiar with the operations of
the Memphis Police Department they gain a better understanding of
the problems and policies facing Memphis law enforcement officers.
Taking this new understanding a step further, many of the Citizen's
Police Academy graduates become Precinct Goodwill Ambassadors. These
Goodwill Ambassadors act as liaisons between the police and the
community.
In 1999, the first Latin American Citizen's Police Academy was
held, graduating 27 Ambassadors.
For information on attending a Citizen's Police Academy contact your
local precinct.
D.A.R.E./G.R.E.A.T.
Location:
DARE/GREAT Office
(Airways
Station)
2245 Truitt
901-576-4800
The
Office of Drug Education houses the Drug Abuse Resistance Education
(D.A.R.E.) and Gang Resistance Education And Training (G.R.E.A.T.)
Units. These units consist of specially trained officers who teach
school aged children to resist the temptations of taking drugs and
joining gangs.
History of the MPD's DARE/GREAT Program
In the fall of 1994, the Memphis Police Department became a
participant in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.)
program. D.A.R.E., which originated in Los Angeles in 1983, provides
a core curriculum of 17 hour-long weekly lessons taught to fifth and
sixth graders to strengthen their substance abuse prevention skills.
We began the program by first training and certifying eight of our
officers to teach it. Their training consisted of an 80 hour two
week session provided at our academy by the Tennessee Highway
Patrol, which manages the D.A.R.E. program statewide. After training
and certification, the eight officers taught the program in nine
Memphis City Schools for the first time in the fall of 1994. Over
800 students completed the program that term and received
certificates acknowledging their accomplishment.
In the spring of 1995, four of those officers provided D.A.R.E.
instruction in nine schools to over 700 students who graduated on
May 30, 1995. In the fall, nine officers provided instruction in
eleven schools to over 900 students who graduated during the week of
December 11-15, 1995. The program will grow again in the 1996 spring
semester, as instruction takes place in twenty-two city schools.
Later in the year, additional officers will be trained to teach
D.A.R.E.
The Memphis Police Department has also undertaken instruction in
Gang Resistance Education and Training Program (G.R.E.A.T.). The
G.R.E.A.T. program, which originated in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1991,
provides a core curriculum of nine hour-long weekly sessions taught
to seventh graders to strengthen their skills for coping with the
constant pressures associated with street gangs. Under guidelines
set up by the G.R.E.A.T. grant all officers will remain in their
assigned schools for the full school year. This is also a valuable
tool for creating positive rapport with the students within the
community.
We began the G.R.E.A.T. program in Memphis in 1995 by initially
certifying four officers to teach it. Later, four more officers were
certified by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), which
manages the program nationwide. In the spring of 1995, six officers
taught the program in seven schools to over 1700 students. In the
1995 fall semester,
seven officers taught it in eight schools to over 1750 students.
During the summer of 1995 six weeklong G.R.E.A.T camps were held for
boys and girls.
The G.R.E.A.T. program expanded in the 1996 spring semester, as
instruction took place in fourteen city schools, and as additional
officers were trained to teach it.
Critical Incident Services
In May of 1996, Former Director Winfrey announced the creation
of the
Critical Incident Services
Program (CIS) to establish a comprehensive stress management program
for Police Services personnel. The CIS program utilizes officers as
peer counselors
under the auspices of trained psychologists for crisis debriefings.
Debriefing guidelines, both voluntary and mandatory, are being
utilized to assist officers and police personnel after a crisis
event. Experiences may include a traumatizing scene such as a
critical injury or death of a child, accidents involving fatalities,
events where an officer has been placed in extreme peril, and any
officer involved shooting.
On one occasion the CIS program provided much needed services to
several officers during a traumatic and critical event in which a
fellow officer was slain in the line of duty.
Since the inception of the CIS program, the Memphis Police
Department has responded to inquiries from other law enforcement
agencies seeking assistance and information.
Leaders of Tomorrow
The
Westwood COACT Mentors Program
was created to enhance the thinking ability of the
neighborhood children, as well as, promote positive
behavior among at-risk children and as a result produce
better students that are eager to advance their
education rather than participate in criminal activity.
Lt. C. Moore is the coordinator of the Westwood COACT
Program.
A "LOT" is happening in the Westwood community thanks to the
officers of the Westwood COACT office. During a brainstorming
session in July, Lt. C. Moore and his officers came up with a
mentoring program for at-risk kids that would not only focus on
school involvement, but community involvement as well.
Calling their mentoring program "L.O.T." (Leaders of Tomorrow),
officers sent out applications via neighborhood watch leaders,
churches, and schools and due to the overwhelming response a waiting
list for the next L.O.T. session had to be created.
Using the theme: "Together We can Build Positive Futures", youth
participating in L.O.T. have gone on field trips to the National
Civil Rights Museum, the site of the Underground Railroad, and to
K-97 radio station.
Westwood COACT held the 1st Annual Black History competition in 1996
which involved several teams of LOT participants who were quizzed
ala "Jeopardy" on their knowledge of Black History. They have also
opened up an account at the Credit Union and have a trip planned in
the future to the Credit Union to see how a bank operates and to
also learn how to open and manage their bank account.
COMEC
Location:
Juvenile Court Building
616 Adams
Phone: 527-3784
The
Commission on Missing and Exploited Children
(COMEC) is located in the Juvenile Court building at 616 Adams. This
unit is responsible for monitoring the exploitation of children, as
well as, tracking the whereabouts of missing children. The Unit also
offers programs on child safety and sponsors the Child
Fingerprinting/Photo ID Booth at the Mid-South Fair.
Sgt.
Len Edwards coordinates the COMEC Program. He can be reached at
901-527-3784.
