West Memphis Police Department’s Police Community Engagement Unit 

Developing and maintaining trusting relationships are the foundation of community policing and are essential to preventing crime, and targeted violence. Law enforcement agencies need to identify challenges, issues, and concerns that emerge at the neighborhood level by gathering real-time data. Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.Various studies find that community-oriented policing improves attitudes toward police. Brief, friendly encounters by uniformed police officers substantially improve people's attitudes toward the police and increase their trust in law enforcement. The initial concept of this program will consist of part time community liaison officers being assigned to challenged areas of the city. Some of the responsibility of these officers will include: 

• clergy coordination community event coordination
• coordinate police joint agencies (PJA) 
• coordinate environmental cleanup programs
• station and community coordination 
• community outreach coordination
• church visits 
• coordinate partnerships with private help group organization
• coordinate enforcement strategies with uniform patrol and specialized units
• Crime Data Review 

Our Community Outreach Coordinator is located within the police station. We stand on the slogan PACT West Memphis (Police And Community Togetherness). This individual serves as the liaison between the community and the police department.

The duties of the Coordinator include the following:

• arranging community events, speaking engagements and projects for the department to engage officers and members of the community in positive interaction
• arranging school presentations, including appearances with Rusty the Crime Dog to ensure that public safety is addressed at local schools 
• maintain active working relationships to improve police services with community stakeholders

MISSION STATEMENT

The WestMemphis Police Department’s Police Community Engagement Unit is based upon a collaborative effort and partnership between the police and the community whereby the police and the community share responsibility for identifying, sharing ideas, reducing, eliminating and preventing problems that impact community safety and improve the overall Quality of Life in their community. We recognize that individuals who live, work, or otherwise have an interest in the community—volunteers, activists, formal and informal community leaders, residents, visitors, and commuters—are a valuable resource for identifying community concerns. These factions of the community can be engaged in achieving specific goals at town hall meetings, and neighborhood association meetings.  

“Making a Difference One Community at a Time”