Hendreks4Parker

Sep 10, 20206 min read

Where is Todd? | Parker Police Department

Updated: Oct 2, 2020

# Fall 2020

Welcome to my series where I take a personal look as I interview people and organizations to get their perspective on how their efforts impact and ultimately makes the Town of Parker the fantastic place that it is.

Disclosure:

While I am fully aware of the issues around the country regarding some police departments, whose actions are reprehensible and should be addressed in a manner to correct their practices, far too often do I see some bad apples get lumped into the entire basket of good fruit and that is not reality. Thus, I am here to offer praise for our own Police department here in Parker, Colorado.

I have graduated from the Parker Police Department's Citizen's Police Academy and I am a member of that graduate club, COPPS (Citizens Offering Parker Police Support). Simply put, I cannot foresee ever a situation where I would vote to defund the Parker Police Department if I become an Elected official. For me, I support them 100% and it is my hope I can share why in the below sections:

Recently I had the honor of meeting with the Parker Police Department to go over trends, thoughts and the future. I met with the relatively new Chief of Police, Jim Tsurapas, a few weeks ago. Parker is blessed with one of the top, highly accredited Police Departments in the country. As is no secret to our residents, the community is very supportive of them as they are of us. So this creates a unique relationship that unfortunately is not mirrored in other parts of America.

I was given a presentation and a tour of the facility when I attended the Parker Police Citizen's Police Academy , but since I am running for Town Council, I wanted to get a more recent and better understanding of their position on how they are being affected by the growth within our Town and any opportunities or challenges they see for the future.

Given current events in the Nation, I wanted to focus on what Parker Police does for our Community, being accredited with Excellence via CALEA and supported by the ACLU as well as what they do for mental health issues. The two biggest issues they see here in Parker is drug use and mental health. For the future they plan on embracing technology more to help fight crime. Most of the crime is transient, meaning conducted by people who live elsewhere. This is mainly due to having a state highway come across town, which is also known as Parker Road.

Attached is an Anti-Bias Commitment Brochure addressing a lot of contemporary highlights for the agency, given the current narrative of the country.

Other graphics in this post emphasize the core components of why an agency should be accredited and what it means.

Finally, there are several graphics of the past three years worth of crime statistics that I alone requested in order to be shared with those reading this.

ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) - Body Camera Policy Support

Parker Police sought advice on the department wide implementation of body cams from the American Civil Liberties Union, which later issued an article

that calls the policy one of the best in the nation.

That article:

https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/surveillance-technologies/rocky-mountain-high-five-colorado-pd-unveils-best?redirect=blog/free-future/rocky-mountain-high-five-colorado-pd-unveils-best-nation-body-camera-policy

Another article:

http://www.parkerpolice.org/DocumentCenter/View/23963/News-_-Parker-Colorado-_-Parkerchronicle?bidId=

"Chad Marlow, who serves as advocacy and policy counsel for the ACLU's national office in New York, said the biggest challenge is striking a balance

between transparency and accountability and protecting individual privacy. Marlow said police agencies “coast to coast are reviewing Parker's policy right now” as they explore the use of body worn cameras. It's not within the mission of the Parker Police Department to serve the entire country, but it has done that and I think that is extremely commendable,” Marlow said."

CALEA Accreditation

After their most recent assessment, CALEA awarded Parker PD with their most prestigious award, “Accreditation with Excellence”

The “Accreditation with Excellence Award” was created by CALEA as a symbolic incentive for agencies to employ CALEA Accreditation in a manner that sets the benchmark for public safety professionalism. To attain this level means you are in the top 5% of all Police Departments. To that end, the award has been structured for the recognition of agencies that have met the following criteria:

* Excellence in the development and implementation of contemporary policies and procedures;

* Excellence in the ability to use the CALEA Accreditation process as a tool for continuous organizational improvement;

* Excellence in the collection, review and analysis of organizational data for the purpose of public safety service improvement;

* Advocacy for CALEA Accreditation as a strategy for enhancing the professional standing of public safety;

* Excellence in addressing the intent of CALEA standards, beyond compliance;

* Organizational culture supportive of CALEA Accreditation; and

* Standards compliance and accreditation process success.

Community Outreach

The Parker Police Department operates over 45 different Community Outreach Programs within Parker

“As part of the fabric of the community, our department seeks to protect individual rights, prevent crime and build community partnerships. Our goal is to enhance the relationship between the citizens of Parker and the Police Department by using community-oriented methods. The more information and understanding shared between the community and law enforcement, the less suspicion, fear and misunderstanding will exist. By eliminating the misconceptions and assumptions created by outside entities, we hope to gain a long-lasting partnership with the citizens of the Town.”

Even the COVID-19 pandemic could not stop the Parker Police Department from maintaining a strong community outreach presence in Parker.

Here are some of the recent Outreach Highlights:

* Citizen’s Police Academy

* Parent Academy-Adolescent Suicide Awareness and Prevention

* Parent Tip Tuesday campaign

* Graffiti reporting social-media campaign

* Living with Wildlife virtual training

* Business Scam social-media campaign

* Vehicle Break-in education and reporting on social-media

* Interactive traffic enforcement/complaint map

* Community Response Team (CRT) education campaign

* Citizen Satisfaction Survey

* Medication Collection Box in PD lobby

* Protect yourself from Social Security scams social-media education

* Safe driving/DUI education on social media

* Women’s self-defense education

* COVID Safety response campaign on social-media

* Calling 9-1-1 education

* CODE RED Emergency Notification System social-media education and information

* Birthday party drive-by celebrations during the Stay-at-Home order

* Chalk-Art contest during stay-at-home order

* Handicapped parking rules/ education campaign on social media

* Oh Say can you Sing outreach for local kids at 4th of July

* School Officer Message to Parker Students during the pandemic

* Mask distribution coordinated by PD outreach for the “Masks for Mayors” project

CRT (Community Response Team) regarding Mental Health

Video:

https://www.facebook.com/ParkerPoliceDepartment/videos/290331905354284/

* Our Community Response Team (CRT) focuses on residents and calls with potential mental health issues. As the number of individuals facing mental health issues continues to increase throughout the country, we recognize the importance of treating these individuals in a compassionate manner that will better serve them and Parker.

* Community Response Teams are comprised of a specially trained law enforcement officer paired with a mental health clinician working on patrol. CRTs streamline access to care for individuals who are caught in the proverbial “revolving door.” In addition, it also allows a patrol officer to get back on the street rather than being tied up at what is typically a long call, an individual needing mental health support. A patrol officer will first respond to a call for service. The initial responding officer determines if there is a mental health concern that needs to be addressed by the CRT. After the team conducts a crisis assessment of the patient, the clinician can make an immediate referral to any level of treatment or place the individual directly into inpatient treatment. The team uses a special medical clearance that treatment providers and insurance companies accept in lieu of an emergency room visit. CRT also makes follow-up visits and conducts preventative visits to individuals who have been identified as high users of emergency systems. Its case management team can coordinate ongoing care.

* Officer Trey Biles and Clinician Aisha Henry are the members of the innovative Community Response Team. This team is part of the Douglas County Health Initiative’s Community Response Team and we are joining the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Castle Rock Police Department in the program Trey and Aisha’s schedule is Tuesday through Friday from noon-9:00 p.m. This schedule is based on our highest call volume for incidents with potential mental health issues. Their schedule will be evaluated periodically to ensure that they are working the hours with the greatest need.

* We are grateful that we are able to provide better service for those in need and their families with the Community Response Team.

More information can be had here:

Web: http://www.parkerpolice.org/

FB: ParkerPoliceDepartment