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The permanent Smithfield Police
Department was established in
1950. It has progressed from its
meager beginning with three
full-time officers and one patrol car to its present complement of
40 sworn police officers, 13 civilian employees and
modernized fleet of
vehicles. The Department now operates with
administrative, uniform, detective, record and computer divisions in
its
organizational format. The
Department is one of the most respected law enforcement agencies in
the state, and is headquartered in a
two-level building on four acres overlooking the Stillwater
Reservoir
(Stump Pond). It houses a
three-cell, lock-up facility and a
full-service, police maintenance garage.
In recent years the emphasis of the Department has shifted from a
traditional law enforcement role to a more pro-active, community
policing style to better serve its citizenry.
During the last nine years, the
Department has fully computerized all operations. A new
IMC computerized dispatching, reporting
and e-mail software package was acquired and implemented, along with
new computerized links to the Rhode Island State Police (RILETS) and
the FBI (NCIC). In addition, we have equipped all of our patrol
vehicles for supervisors and patrol officers with
state-of-the-art mobile data terminals
that allow immediate access to federal, state and local files.
The front communication center
has
also been completely renovated.
The
Commission on Accreditation for Law
Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) awarded National
Reaccreditation to the Department in March of 2004. To attain this
goal, the Department satisfied 446 professional standards. This
award, along with our initial National Accreditation Award in
2001, constituted one of the most significant
accomplishments in the history of the Department. We now have a
formal Policy and Procedures Manual that provides all employees with
an easily accessible, centralized source of policies, procedures,
rules and regulations; a manual that is logically arranged by
subject matter and tabbed for easy use; and lastly, a manual that
raises the professionalism and accountability of the Department and
its employees.
The Department has also embarked on
an aggressive Capital Improvement Program to improve equipment and
facilities. Recent improvements include: the construction of a
free-standing police maintenance garage
in the rear parking lot,
replacement
of existing firearms, establishment of Computer Network
Administrator’s position, the acquisition of a marine patrol boat
and breathalyzer machine through grant funds and the installation of
a new generator and electrical system. Future improvements include
the repaving, lining, fencing and illumination of the rear parking
lot and a complete revamping of the HVAC system.
The U.S. Department of Justice/COPS Office awarded five grants to
the Department resulting in the hiring of
two full-time community policing officers,
a full-time juvenile officer, a full-time school resource officer,
along with the installation of mobile data terminals in all patrol
vehicles.
The Department created and
established a Written Directive System, a
mandatory 40-hour, in-service training program,
a mandatory management-training program for all commissioned and
non-commissioned officers, a formalized Field Training Officer
Program, a Performance Evaluation Management System, employee job
descriptions and upgrades to its local area network through
additional computer workstations.
In addition, we’ve also created a
marine boat and beach patrol to establish a police presence on the
local ponds and beaches, a bicycle patrol, and added a
second DARE Officer
in the local school system. We’ve reinstated the
Boy Scouts of America Law Enforcement Explorers Post Program,
revitalized the Neighborhood Crime Watch Program, established
“Project Safe Return” to provide immediate emergency information to
assist the safe and speedy return of children, the elderly, or
handicapped individuals at risk should they become lost due to
separation from a caregiver, and created a Smithfield Police
Department/Smithfield High School Relations Committee to improve
relations between police officers and high school students.
The Department established a
Community Police Office in the Apple Valley Mall to better serve
town residents and business owners in the community, conducted
Senior Citizens’ Police Academies,
Citizens’ Police Academies, and a self-defense training
course for female residents and business owners.
The vision of the Smithfield Police
Department is to be recognized as the most professional,
well-respected, highly trained, proactive, community-oriented
municipal law enforcement agency in Rhode Island.
The mission of the Smithfield
Police Department is to establish and maintain a proactive
partnership with residents and business owners to work together in
solving problems facing our community. The success of this mission
depends upon a continuous effort to increase awareness and develop
higher levels of trust and understanding among police officers and
their community.
In furthering this partnership, we
pledge our dedication and diligence in protecting life, liberty and
property; preserving the peace; and enforcing laws and ordinances.
We are committed to improving all aspects of public safety, reducing
the fear and incidence of crime, extending and improving our
community programs, and maintaining the highest degree of respect
for individual rights and human dignity. We are committed to
honoring the sacred public trust by ensuring that the Smithfield
Police Department adheres to the highest professional law
enforcement standards. We shall continuously strive toward attaining
excellence, removing barriers to communication, and providing our
employees with effective leadership, supervision and training in a
quality work environment. |
