A new division within the Chula Vista Police Department will help the agency's personnel increase and improve their community-oriented policing efforts, CVPD officials announced Wednesday.
The CVPD Executive Operations & Community Engagement Division will be "focused on connecting more actively with our community ... (and) will concentrate on increasing transparency and enhancing relationships with residents, visitors, business owners, students, community leaders and advocates, and the unsheltered," a public statement from the department asserted.
"The new division is part of a major change in the department's organizational structure to provide dedicated resources, including an executive captain, to increase its engagement with the community," the statement continued. "The unit will help the department to expand on its mission to provide community policing with the highest level of professionalism and transparency."
According to department officials, the new division will include:
- The CVPD Community Policing Unit, consisting of the department's Homeless Outreach Team, Community Relations Team, School Resource Officer Unit, Street Team and Gang Suppression Unit, along with designated community-liaison officers;
- The CVPD Research, Crime and Intelligence Analysis unit; and
- A new public information unit, consisting of a sergeant acting as a full-time public information officer and a public information specialist to focus on electronic and social media resources.
"In recent years, a number of existing (Chula Vista police) teams have worked on a variety of significant projects to engage with stakeholders in our community," the department said. "This will be the first time these teams will be brought together and enhanced with new resources, operating under the direction of ... Chief of Police (Roxana Kennedy) and through the direct command of an executive captain."
