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COMMUNITY MESSAGE AND MEDIA ALERT FROM THE SAN MATEO POLICE DEPARTMENT The San Mateo Police Department Awarded As a Finalist For the James Q. Wilson Award for Excellence in Community Policing At The 2015 California Police Chiefs Association Symposium The San Mateo Police Department is proud to announce that our very successful Rogell Neighborhood Safety Partnership has been awarded a trophy as one of three finalists for the James Q. Wilson Award for Excellence in Community Policing by the Regional Community Policing Institute of California. This award is given annually at the California Police Chiefs Association Symposium to only those agencies who have achieved true excellence in the area of community policing and we are extremely proud and humbled to be recognized for such a prestigious award. The late James Q. Wilson was a pioneer in community-based policing and the San Mateo Police Department strives day in and day out to model and further develop that philosophy by building stronger bonds with our neighbors to the betterment of our community as a whole. SMPD built the Rogell Neighborhood Safety Partnership on three simple principles: Empowerment, Encouragement, and Trust. Chief Manheimer and her staff have embodied and carried those concepts throughout our beautiful city, creating and building on the theory that every San Mateo Police Officer is a Community Police Officer. From the moment they are sworn in every single SMPD officer is trained to provide a high level of service to the community by identifying neighborhood issues and developing long term solutions through community partnerships. SMPD wishes again to thank the California Police Chiefs Association and the Regional Community Policing Institute of California for this prestigious recognition and we are both humbled and driven by this award to continue partnering with our community with the high level of service they have come to expect from their police department. To read more about this award, our Rogell Partnership, and to review our submission to RCPIC, please go to our community blog.

ABSTRACT OF NOMINATION:
San Mateo Police Department: San Mateo, California –
Rogell Neighborhood Safety Partnership:
Safeguarding At-Risk Communities through Empowerment, Encouragement, and Trust
 
Executive Summary – In 2009, the San Mateo Police Department noticed a trend of deteriorating public safety in the Rogell Neighborhood – a two-block area consisting of 10 apartment buildings. The members of this small neighborhood hailed almost exclusively from the same small region of Mexico – fear of the police and other public authorities was very high. Residents were reluctant to contact the police and other authorities, leading to a continued rise in public safety issues as well as an influx of gang influence, manifested in graffiti, loitering and other criminal activity. Other neighborhood issues included lack of adequate child care and families without adequate healthy food and transportation. The physical area itself appeared run-down and blighted, with abandoned vehicles, disrepair of buildings, and inadequate lighting.

SMPD, operating with an institutional philosophy of Community Policing we refer to as “Neighborhood Safety Partnerships,” noticed the need for a problem solving process to be applied in this neighborhood. Our problem solving process follows the COMPSTAT problem solving formula - amassing timely and accurate intelligence, assessing effective tactics (both with internal resources and in partnership with community-based organizations), rapidly deploying resources with an operational plan, and vigorous and frequent reassessment. Having a successful roadmap from a similar neighborhood problem a few years prior, we initiated a plan.

We created a partnership with the community by gathering the landlords together with City experts in building, public works, fire prevention and code enforcement to assess blight and crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) issues, and created a communication dynamic to make their progress sustainable. At the same time we were addressing language, culture and fear issues among the residents of the Rogell neighborhood. This was accomplished through public and private partnerships with local community facilitators, our Police Activities League, a local food bank, and our local waste removal company. Community members were matched up with these partners (including volunteer officers) for children’s activities, transportation and food delivery for families, and regular cleanup events. They also enjoy an improved relationship with the local landlords. Families, landlords, police and public safety partners all gather annually now for a celebratory feast at the holidays.

Results for this problem resolution process include increased engagement and reduced apprehension by the community, resulting in an increase in calls for quality-of-life issues, and an overall improved sense of ownership in their area – leading to increased overall public health and safety. Most importantly – children and families in this neighborhood now see SMPD as their allies and friends, and trust the authorities to help them to be a thriving, vibrant community.     


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