Community Oriented Policing

The Tampa Police Department has subscribed to the Community Oriented Policing (COP) philosophy for decades. In the 1980's grants were received and specific areas of the city were identified as needing increased police presence and services. The first areas included Palmetto Beach and 34th/Hillsborough, with West Tampa being added later. The department made a sizeable impact on crime in these areas for various lengths of time.

Then, 'X-Ray' squads were created to supply additional attention and presence in the major public housing areas. College Hill, Ponce de Leon, Robles, Riverview Terrace, and Main Street housing areas received dedicated squads that focused exclusively on issues in those areas. Officers enforced laws as needed but also built a rapport with the community by interacting with them. This interaction included sports activities, mentoring, information exchange, and extensive foot patrols.

In 1995, the 'Firehouse Cops' program was created. One officer was assigned to each of 20 firehouses, with the task of handling COP activities in the respective firehouse zone. This was expanded with the addition of 20 more officers to provide day coverage seven days a week. These officers were given the task of performing virtually all COP related efforts for the entire department. They attended meetings, interacted with the community, and acted as a liaison to the rest of the department. Typically, they did not handle calls for service even in their assigned zones.

Community Policing in the department had become a dedicated special program instead of a true organizational philosophy that is part of our foundational culture. The firehouse officers were expected to deliver community services and the patrol force basically focused on call response in a reactive mode. This structure was not conducive to a team effort focused on delivering the best possible services.

The department shifted from a dedicated COP program in the Firehouse Cops to a true department wide philosophy. The shift from a program structure to a foundational organizational philosophy institutionalized problem solving based community oriented policing in the Tampa Police Department. All personnel are now held accountable to deliver the full range of police services. No longer do citizens have to wait for their firehouse officer to come back to work. Any and all officers have some knowledge of the problems in the neighborhood and have information regarding what has been done to deal with the issue. They are able to respond to the citizen with increased levels of knowledge regarding the concerns and provide a better level of service to the citizen. Citizens are able to talk with a knowledgeable officer 24/7 instead of just when the previous firehouse officer was working.

In 2003, Operation Commitment was launched in East Tampa. A part of that operation was the implementation of a Crime Prevention Team comprised of one Police Officer and one Crime Prevention Practitioner. The concept was so successful that it was expanded after the operation to include all three police districts. Each district's team acts as a liaison to the various police department, city and other governmental and non-profit citizen aid organizations to help facilitate solutions to community problems and concerns. They also educate residents and businesses in their districts on steps and methods to reduce their vulnerability to crime and address the various COP issues.