TPD Receives Rocky Pomerance Excellence in Policing Award
June 27, 2017
The Tallahassee Police Department is proud to announce they have been selected to receive the prestigious Rocky Pomerance Excellence in Policing Award for 2016. This award has been named in honor of Rocky Pomerance, who has been recognized as exemplifying the image of an innovative and visionary leader who furthered the mission of the Florida Police Chiefs Association and the law enforcement profession within Florida. A practitioner and visionary, Chief Rocky Pomerance, was the Chief of Police of Miami Beach, Florida, from early 1950's through 1977 and served as the President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police from October 1973 through October 1974.
TPD was selected after being recognized for innovations in police relations and promotion of community participation. With the increase in violent crime within the recent years, the Tallahassee Police Department began looking for new ways of conducting business within our city. A call for more community involvement and the creation of two new specialized units within TPD began to assess the problems occurring within the city limits. With a focus on crime analysis TPD was able to identify the "hot spots" of violent crime within the city and then place specialized units in those at-risk neighborhoods. The agency also worked with the community, including the neighborhood associations, local businesses, as well as the schools within those areas, all in an effort to curb the violent crime.
TPD created an alliance with the citizens through the creation of the Community Leadership Council on Gun Violence and implemented the Operation Safe Neighborhood (OSN) program in response to the increase in violent crimes. TPD, through the analysis of the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data from 2015 to 2016, were able to demonstrate a 14.2% decrease in the violent crime within the city, attributable to the new specialty squads and community involvement. Utilizing specialty squads and effective crime prevention programs (such as the SPIRIT Project), have contributed to the successful and innovative approach of Community Oriented Policing for the city of Tallahassee. Due to the success, the agency intends to continue the usage of these specialty squads in the areas of the city that need them the most and will continue to develop additional visionary and forward-thinking means of Community Oriented Policing with the citizens of Tallahassee.
"I am proud of the partnerships the officers of TPD have made with our community partners of the last several years and am honored to receive this award on behalf of all the men and woman of the Tallahassee Police Department", said Chief Michael J. DeLeo. "With the continuing cooperation of our community members and the addition of our new specialized units, TPD and Tallahassee can continue to drive the violent crime down in our city, making it a place for all to enjoy", said DeLeo.
TPD will officially receive the award on July 11, 2017 at the Florida Police Chiefs Association Summer Conference.
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