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Community Policing
For the past 40-50 years, law enforcment has been a reactionary force in that patrol officers respond to calls for service and once finished was immediately sent to another call. Prior to this idea of rapid deployment, the police officer was a part of the community he patrolled. He was the one the residents went to for help with various problems they had because they trusted him. Once that officer was put into a patrol car he became a faceless entity seen only momentarily as he raced from call to call. For crime to be reduced the members of the community must become involved. The police cannot stop crime alone and it is unrealistic for anyone to think otherwise. This is the basis for community policing and the Gadsden Police Department`s COP unit.

COP Unit
Housing Community Police

The COP program has received two National Award for Outstanding Community Policing from the National League of Cities (NLC). Mayor Steve Means accepted the latest award for the COP Program at the December 1998 NLC annual conference, which was held in Kansas City, MO. The COP program is a joint effort between the Housing Authority and the City of Gadsden. The program began in 1992 and has become a model community policing program because of its success in helping transform Gadsden`s public housing from "Housing of Last Resort to Housing of Choice." The first national award for the COP program was presented at the December 1996 NLC annual conference in San Antonio, Texas.

For more information about the Gadsden Police Department`s COP unit please contact Lt. Moon at (256) 549-4636.

City of Gadsden Police Department
90 Broad St.
Gadsden, AL. 35901
(256) 549-4500

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