Grand Rapids Police Department Issues Strategic Plan
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Payne on Tuesday will present his department's three-year strategic plan promises to transform policing in the city. The plan provides defined action steps with measurable outcomes using a neighborhoodbased policing model that will help the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) ensure all people feel safe and are safe throughout the community. Payne will formally present the final plan to the City Commission on Tuesday morning at the Committee of the Whole.
The final strategic plan is closely aligned with the City of Grand Rapid's strategic plan specifically the priority areas of safe community, governmental excellence and engaged and connected community. The plan establishes a new vision for the police department to partner with the community to make Grand Rapids the safest mid-sized city and make GRPD the most trusted police department in the U.S.
The plan's equity statement acknowledges that, historically, segments of the community, including people of color, lowincome residents and others, have been disproportionately impacted by City policies, policing practices and the criminal justice system. It also includes a commitment to providing fair and just services for all individuals.
Since the introduction of the draft plan on August 7, public engagement has significantly reshaped the final plan. An immense amount of feedback was received from City and Police Department employees, residents, and various organizations such as Linc Up, Urban Core Collective, NAACP-Grand Rapids, Police Chief's Advisory Team, City's Community Relations Committee and the SAFE Taskforce to name a few. An implementation framework was developed to build in accountability that identifies a start and end date for every step included in the plan.
The web page includes all presentations, the draft plan and all written or recorded feedback received from community after the draft plan was released. The page also houses redline copy the plan to specifically identify where revisions were made. The draft plan included 62 action steps which increased to 101 based on public input. Most of the added 39 action steps were made to the engagement section.
In addition, nearly all metrics throughout the strategic plan were updated to be more quantitative and the plan now includes 42 metrics which can be found on the department's performance dashboard "Working in partnership with the community, we have developed a plan that will change how policing is done in Grand Rapids," Payne said. "I feel strongly that our plan provides our personnel the necessary framework to nurture a culture of service, not only for today, but for generations to come. This transition will be successful only if we come together as a community, listen to one another and work together. As we continue to develop this plan and implement it, we will engage our community in an on-going dialogue with the goal of improving the services we provide."
The plan – also informed by past studies and input from various external experts that have taken place over the past five years – identifies three strategic priorities: safety, innovation and engagement.
Here's a breakdown of the three strategic priorities:
•Safety
•Provide professional neighborhood policing services to prevent crime, enhance trust and ensure safety for every community member, visitor and business. Key objectives include:
•Be a positive presence in neighborhoods, respond to police calls for service and engage in collaborative problem-solving initiatives with the community. This will be done by transitioning to neighborhood-based policing that makes every patrol officer a community policing specialist who is focused on crime prevention, improving the quality of life for community members and building trust.
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