updated February 2008          

           The Town of Smithfield is located in northern Rhode Island. It was founded in 1730, covers 27.8 square miles and is home to approximately 20,000 residents. Its police force was established in 1950, and, in 1972, the town built its police headquarters building on four acres overlooking the picturesque Stillwater Reservoir. 

            The Department is currently comprised of 41 sworn police officers and 13 civilians--a total complement of 54 employees. Over the last several years, we have shifted our emphasis from a traditional law enforcement role to a more proactive, community-oriented policing style to better serve the citizenry. 

            The Department was nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) in March of 2001 and reaccredited in March of 2004 and 2007, Attaining initial accreditation and reaccreditation were truly significant accomplishments in the history of the Department. 

            In furthering the Department’s Written Directive System, the Department continued to revise its Policy and Procedure Manual initially issued on March 1^st, 2003. During the last fiscal year, the Department formally issued new policies on its Personnel Early Warning System, Selection of Civilian Personnel, and Employee Familial Relationships/Nepotism, and revised seventeen other existing policies.  

The Department’s FY 2008-09 Annual Goals and Objectives included requests for additional police officers, renovations to create additional Patrol Division workspace, the purchase of Taser units as intermediate defense weapons, the purchase of a vehicle for crime scene investigation/collision reconstruction, purchase of two motorcycles for patrol and ceremonial functions and establishing a canine function. 

            The Department’s FY 2009-14 Multi-year Goals and Objectives included requests to increase  the Department’s complement to 50 sworn officers, design and construct a training, conference and wellness center, establish and maintain a “regional” firing range among surrounding communities, renovate the animal shelter, and redesign the appearance of all marked cruisers. 

      The Department provided an average of 62 hours of mandatory, department-wide, in-service training to all sworn officers on the following subjects/training sessions: Shotgun Training, Fall and Spring Firearm Qualifications, Use of Force/OCAT/MEB, Rapid Response to School Shooters, Law Enforcement Prevention of Terrorism, ICS 300-700, Unlawful Harassment, Professional Conduct, IMC-Motor Vehicle Reports, CPR-AED, Immigration Overview, Patrol Response to Mentally Ill and Firearms Simulator Training. 

            All sworn officers were provided advanced and specialized in-service training on the following subjects/training sessions: Off-road Patrol Enforcement, Professional Conduct, Breathalyzer Certification, Elderly Community Service, Youth Crime Watch, FTO Program Training, Scientific Evidence, IMC Computer, NESPIN Access Training, Pre-employment Background Inquiries, Child Abuse, Identity Crime Detection, Microsoft Excel, Interviewing Techniques and Alcohol Server Training.  

      We provided in-service training to civilian employees on the following subjects/training sessions: Accreditation Familiarization, New Uniform Crash Reports, CPR & AED, Civil Disturbance Response Plan, ICS 700 and NCIC Recertification. 

Pursued and awarded the following grants: 

       The Community Police Unit conducted a Citizens Police Academy for high school students and a Female Self-defense Course for residents and business owners. We hosted Retro Bill, the official DARE Safety Buddy, performance at the high school and middle school. 

      The Department completed renovation on the upstairs women’s bathroom. 

      A vehicle used for administrative functions was converted to an unmarked vehicle for traffic enforcement. We replaced all existing mobile data terminals (MDTs) and added four additional units with funds provided through a federal grant. 

      A new police radio communication system was installed and a new repeater relay was implemented.  

      In FY 2006-2007, the Department made 1,015 arrests, issued 5,415 traffic violations, investigated 972 incidents, made 49 DWI arrests, investigated 31 house/business breaks, investigated 947 motor vehicle collisions, responded to 1,198 private security alarms and answered 23,951 calls for service. 

 I’m very proud of the Department employees and their accomplishments. Smithfield Police Department employees are conscientious, highly motivated, and well educated. Consequently, they have been very receptive to our community-oriented program, which serves as a model project in which our officers go beyond the bounds of traditional policing to work with citizens and community leaders to solve the root causes of crime and disorder, and better weave their way into the fabric of the community.  

A Nationally Accredited Law Enforcement Agency
 

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