Message from Sheriff Ed Gonzalez – Community Policing Empowers Communities
At the Sheriff’s Office, we have been working hard to implement strategies and solutions to better serve and protect our residents and to keep building trust.
We recently formed the Community Problem-Oriented Policing Unit, also known as CPOP, to foster meaningful relationships with residents, gain insight into the unique needs of each community, and empower people with knowledge and resources through our partners.
Each patrol district will have two dedicated deputies who will spend their time getting to know the businesses, schools, houses of worship, and neighborhoods in their area. They will start to establish relationships with the neighbors that make up the community.
In all of these efforts, the goal is to get the community involved before a crime takes place; to create a bond before a crisis erupts. This way, residents feel more empowered to share what’s on their mind and what public safety concerns or issues on their block keep them up at night. And that makes us all safer.
We’re using community policing and data to drive down crime and enhance our quality of life. We want to ensure that the residents we serve are our partners; that we’re all working together to tackle problems, especially the hard ones.
Last week, we announced the move toward a greater reliance on data analysis to identify the nexus of crashes and crime. The proven operational model called Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) improves deployment decisions, keeps deputies and residents informed, and demonstrates the power of data to address disproportionately affected areas.
As an agency, we’re always exploring innovative approaches that align with our core values, promote transparency and accountability, and focus on engaging residents in a deeper way.
Our neighbors should bring concerns to the deputies patrolling their community. Our deputies should actively include their voices – even those critical of law enforcement – in conversations around strategies for resolving problems in their neighborhood.
CPOP deputies will be knocking on doors, reviewing calls for service, working collaboratively with district commanders and various units across our agency, and seeking community input through surveys and forums. They will be following up with residents to make sure their issues were properly resolved. They will connect people with critical resources through our partners, such as the United Way of Greater Houston and BakerRipley, to assist them with their needs.
Over the next several weeks, the CPOP Unit will attend training focused on the relational policing and community policing models and will work with patrol district leaders on an action plan to rollout in their areas.
As peace officers, our actions must be driven by our training and love for our community. Over the past year, civil unrest over racial justice has led to countless demonstrations across our country. For some, it meant an erosion of trust in law enforcement. Our deputies must be ready and determined to meet this moment. Their work must be an extension of our core values.
We want to help build a foundation so that we can trust each other and rely on each other. And that’s what community is about – the idea that we’re all in this together. That’s the ultimate goal.
During the recent winter storm, you may have seen a social media post from District V Patrol Commander, Capt. Kinnard-Bing, that went viral. Our deputies responded to a call at a hotel in northwest Harris County where they learned a patron couldn’t afford the room for the night. The deputies covered the overnight cost for the hotel room to keep the patron and his family safe and warm.
Their actions were met by a flood of supportive posts from our followers who thanked the deputies and offered to pay for more nights at the hotel if the family was still in need. And that’s not just a testament to our deputies – because when the act of kindness went viral, folks across our county began asking how they could help, too.
That’s Harris County at its best. That’s good police work. That’s what so many of you in our community represent. Let’s keep pushing our world in the right direction – toward lending a helping hand to those in need; toward being a good neighbor; toward equity and fairness.
