Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Acts of Kindness
Officers see people in need on a regular basis. In partnership with the Wichita Police Foundation, the Random Acts of Kindness program was initiated. Learn more about in this story by KWCH.
Sunday, June 13, 2021
Five year progress report: Reimagining the Wichita Police Department
Since arriving in 2016 we formed the vision of a police department transformed through focusing on relationships and community policing. Over these past five years and a half years, we’ve focused on changing culture and building trust through reconciliation, education and training, hiring, policy change, promoting kindness and empathy, transparency, accountability, and communications. During this time the Wichita community has extended friendship, generosity, patience, and grace while watching WPD shed old practices, adopt new practices, trip, fall, learn, and progress.
I am often asked about the progress we've made. Given this interest, I decided to write about it. I have organized our accomplishments by topic and pair them with news stories highlighting the journey. I broke our accomplishments down into the following categories: Building Community Trust Through Relationships, Community Engagement, Crime Reduction, Economically disadvantaged communities, Efficiencies, Employee Wellness, Homelessness, Increasing Violence, Kindness & Empathy, LGBTQIIA+, Local Business Partnerships, Mental Health, Money Saving Efforts, Recruiting & Promoting Officers, Reconciliation, Relationships, Transparency & Accountability (Working With Disenfranchised Communities), Use of Force, Victim Services (Sexual/Domestic Violence), Violent Crime, and Youth.
As you go through the blogs and news stories, a common theme you’ll find is change within WPD. Change doesn't happen overnight. We acknowledge the negative impact policing had in certain communities in America and learn from past mistakes and continually work to create a better future for police and the community. We’ve rejected the “us vs them” style of policing and adopted a “better together” with community policing and significant engagement - particularly engaging areas with historically troubled police-community relations. This is the guiding principle that has served as the foundation for all of our work.
These blogs and stories are by no means exhaustive, but rather some examples that highlight our efforts to do better. There is still work to be done, but together we’ve come a long way!
For more in depth information on any of our work, please visit:
and
https://images.radio.com/knss/2020-WPD-Response-to-the-Community.pdf.
Building Community Trust Through Relationships
At WPD we encourage our officers to engage and connect with the community. The root word of “community” is “commune.” For interest, I Googled the definition and some of the themes that came up were about personal interaction and sharing common values, visions, and responsibilities. At the core of the WPD, that’s really what we are committed to doing: building relationships and working toward our common goal of creating and living in a community where everyone can feel safe.
While many cities struggled and made no progress during the 2016 Black Lives Matter Protests, Wichita made national news and landed an invitation to the White House from President Obama by working with Black leaders and activists to host a barbeque where they successfully built relationships and policing goals.
Invite to White House
https://www.ksn.com/news/wichita-police-chief-invited-to-white-house/
Community barbeque
Officer Aaron Moses Dancing with the community
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/07/19/dancing-cop-black-lives-matter-bbq.ksnw
Officer Timothy Baird Dancing at Juneteenth
https://www.ksn.com/news/kansas/dancing-wpd-cop-strikes-again-in-viral-video/
Police Lip Sync Challenge
Police Gid Up Challenge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ThYiN-ZdMA
Communications
We know that most of our community gets information from the internet or social media, not just from the newspaper or television. We want our community to know us and the services we offer beyond responding to emergency or nuisance calls. At WPD we do our best to make it easy for our community to find us. We currently use our website, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and YouTube. So whether you want to click, scroll, read, or watch, you can find us. Below are links to all of our social media resources:
Wichita Police Department Website
https://www.wichita.gov/WPD/Pages/default.aspx
Wichita Police Department Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/WichitaPolice
Wichita Police Department Twitter
https://twitter.com/WichitaPolice
Wichita Police Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/user/wichitapolicedept
Police Chief Gordon Ramsay’s Blog
https://www.policechiefgordonramsay.com/
Police Chief Gordon Ramsay’s Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/policechieframsay
Police Chief Gordon Ramsay’s Twitter
https://twitter.com/chieframsay
Police Chief Gordon Ramsay’s YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1aFbb3YJgKCWu0fERAbBEQ
Community engagement
We want our community to know, like, and trust us. One way to do that is by meeting with them regularly. My first year in Wichita I attended 250 + community meetings and department members attend and participate in over 1,000 community meetings and gatherings annually with neighborhood associations, community groups, schools, camps, youth groups and special interest groups.
https://www.kmuw.org/post/wichita-police-law-enforcement-groups-host-community-wide-meeting
Economically disadvantaged communities
Tickets and traffic violations can often be detrimental to those who are economically disadvantaged. When someone is forced to choose between feeding their children and replacing their taillight or paying a traffic ticket, they will choose to feed their children and hope they don’t get noticed until they can afford to take care of their violation. Because of the increases in fines and fees, too many are never able to pay the costs and what began as a minor problem compounds into major problems. We recognize how economic disparities can make it nearly impossible to comply with all of the traffic rules for some and can devastate an individual or family. We have created programs such as Second Chance Thursdays, Lights On, and the Child Seat Program to help offset the costs and impact of minor infractions.
Improving Relations in Low Income Areas
Second Chance Thursdays
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWv3eDEW0t8
Lights On
The Child Seat Program
Importance of Discretion in Policing
http://wichitapolicechief.blogspot.com/2017/02/discretion-and-its-use.html
Efficiencies
At WPD we are mindful to be good budget stewards and are doing this in a number of ways. We work on education and prevention services, which you’ll see throughout this report, as well as coordinating agency efforts and consolidating services, such as ICT-1. In addition, the WPD works to secure grants to help with additional staffing, equipment costs, new programming, and technology and utilizes volunteers and non-commissioned staff when at all possible.
Grants
CSO
https://www.kake.com/story/40371269/community-service-officers-join-wichita-police-department
Volunteers
Employee Wellness
Policing is a tough job. Our officers see and deal with things that should never be seen and constantly see people on the worst days of their lives and in order for officers to stay healthy and successful we need to support them. In addition to wellness check, peer support and critical incident stress debriefing we work to highlight the good officers do every minute of everyday. News is quick to report all of the bad stories, but it is not as quick to report the good that our officers do on a daily basis and the work can take a toll on an officer’s mental and physical health. Because of the negative environment around policing today, I am concerned if this trend continues we will not be able to attract the best and brightest to our profession. At the WPD we regularly use social media to highlight the officers who are doing an outstanding job in our community.
Compliment of the week
https://www.facebook.com/policechieframsay
Highlighting Good Deeds
https://www.ksn.com/news/local/police-chief-gordon-ramsay-highlights-officers-good-deeds/
Homelessness
While we believe police should be decoupled from social issues such as policing homelessness there are currently inadequate resources to properly address it and we remain part of the solution. We recognize that people can become homeless for a variety of reasons, including lack of affordable housing, lack of employment, lack of resources, domestic violence, drug and alcohol addiction, or mental illness. As a result, our homeless often suffer from trauma and are among society’s most vulnerable. And unlike the rest of the community, they can’t hide their trauma behind closed doors or in the safety of a home. As first responders, the WPD recognized the importance of balancing the needs of businesses and the public with the needs of our homeless. Regardless of their journey into homelessness, WPD seeks not to criminalize them, but rather to help guide them to resources where they can find help.
In 2011 the WPD formed the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) who uses community partners to identify, reach out, and help to serve and protect this vulnerable population. Over the past 5 years our HOT team has continued to expand and thrive. We’ve reduced chronic homelessness by 78% and have received national recognition for our efforts.
WPD partnering with interns and businesses to help house those in need
Recognized as a National Model
https://www.ksn.com/news/local/wpds-homeless-outreach-team-nationally-recognized/
Help find homes
Help with medical needs
Help with education
Increasing Violence
Our nation has seen an increase in violent crime and unfortunately, our city has as well. We are constantly looking for ways to get ahead of criminals and solve crime. Our Gunshot Detection program we’ve been building will help us locate where gunshots have been fired and the Save-A- Casing program helps us track stolen guns. We created Kansas’s first Gun Crime Intelligence Center in partnership ATF and Wichita State University. We are receiving awards for our efforts and are doing everything we can to partner and lower crime.
ATF Award
Gunfire detection
Save-A-Casing
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2673537246072623
Kindness & Empathy
Policing is a job that can be heartbreaking and can leave officers feeling pessimistic and depleted. We typically see people when they are at their worst; we are not only witness to some of the most heinous crimes, but we are also lied to, spit on, sworn at, kicked, hit, punched, and shot at. Despite the negativity, I believe the majority of officers enter the profession to help people. I continually see officers working extra or using their own money to help the disadvantaged people they meet to answer their inner calling.
At WPD we encourage and foster an environment for officers to do good deeds. This not only helps the officers, but it helps to strengthen relationships between the police and the community. We believe in this concept so much that in 2020 the Wichita Police Foundation started a Random Acts of Kindness Program to help fund officers’ efforts. While there are countless stories highlighting the kindness of our officers, here are some for reference:
Random Acts of Kindness Program
'Random Acts of Kindness': Program aimed to help those in …
Wichita Police Foundation launches program to help ... - KAKE
Helping Youth
https://www.ksn.com/news/local/police-chief-gordon-ramsay-highlights-officers-good-deeds/
Holiday Gifts
Helping the Sick and Elderly
https://www.kake.com/story/40791338/officer-goes-above-and-beyond-to-help-76-year-old-woman
Providing Food, Clothing, Health Supplies
LGBTQIIA+
At the WPD we recognize that our LGBTQIIA+ community members are at a higher risk for depression, suicide, and are often the target of hate crimes. After the 2016 Pulse night club shooting in Orlando, we worked closely with impacted community members and created liaison positions to collaborate and build relationships with organizations, businesses, and individuals in the community, ensuring them access to all the services our department provides. Further, we work ongoing with our liaisons to develop and provide training for the police department on related issues. In 2017 our liaisons were the Grand Marshals in the Wichita Pride Parade. And, in part to our efforts, Wichita was named the most gay friendly city in Kansas by Thrillist who documented gay friendly cities in the red states.
LGBTQIIA Liaisons
https://www.gayly.com/wpd-precedent-solidarity-wichita
Wichita Most Gay Friendly City in Kansas
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/most-gay-friendly-city-in-every-red-state-in-america
Local Business Partnerships
Safety and perception of safety is often at the crux of a successful business. If people don’t feel safe patronizing a business they won’t. Our communities rely on businesses for tax dollars and businesses rely on the police to keep them safe, this is especially true in economically disadvantaged areas of the city. At WPD we value the relationships with our local businesses and partner with them to help keep our economy healthy.
Brush Up Broadway
https://www.kwch.com/video/2021/04/27/wichita-police-holding-brush-up-broadway-event-saturday/
Working With Hispanic Businesses
Helping to Revitalize Community Businesses
Mental Health
The mental health crisis in America is a topic which I have been writing and speaking about continuously for a good portion of my 28 years in policing, because the police are often first responders to those in crisis. Our citizens struggling with mental health issues are more likely to commit suicide, suffer from addiction, end up in jail, live in poverty, or become homeless. Too often our criminal justice system has become the provider for these services due to service cuts elsewhere.
Knowing this, we attempt to identify people who are struggling before the police are needed to intervene. We established a mental health crisis team, ICT-1 made up of a mental health worker, an EMS professional, and a law enforcement officer. In the study that was done on our efforts, it reports that we saved the hospitals 2.3 million dollars by diverting ER visits.
When our officers are called, our goal is for our officers to recognize when someone is having a mental health crisis, attempt to calm the person and situation, and then get the person help.
ICT-1
https://www.ksn.com/news/local/ict-1-leaders-call-it-a-success-want-more-of-it/
Training on calming
Recruiting & Promoting Officers
We take hiring and staffing seriously at WPD. While other cities across the nation are seeing a decrease in applicants, we are proud to report that the WPD has been able to increase our applications. We believe this is due to the philosophies we have, the culture we are creating, and the hard work of our recruiters and staff. In the last two years we have hired the most people of color and women than in the department’s history.
We want not only the best police officers, but also those who are reflective of our belief that a police department should be as diverse as the community it serves. We do not believe in hiring and promoting based on optics, which can lead to failure for both the officer and the department. Rather we work to create a fair, inviting, educated, and inclusive environment to attract the best candidates. Once hired, we try to provide a supportive environment where we train and mentor our officers to be their best so they can equally compete to move up the ranks if they desire. We have had great success using this model. Not only have we had a record number of female and minority applicants, but we even made history by promoting the most diverse command staff in the history of the Department.
Making history with hiring first formerly undocumented Latino
Increase in applications
Record numbers of female and minority recruits
Diverse Command Staff
2016 Beginning Recruiting Efforts
https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article98696237.html
Transparency, Accountability, & Working With Disenfranchised Communities
At WPD we recognize that groups have been stripped of their power based on physical limitations, race, religion, and sexual orientation. Due to this there is often a negative history and distrust associated with police. At the WPD we are mindful of that history and seek to include all groups, ensuring them the same access to service regardless of where they are in the power structure. As you go through the report, you will find numerous examples immersed in our work.
During these past five years, we have created liaison positions and/or implemented programs reaching out to communities including: Asian, Black, LBGTQIA, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern, Refugee, Autistic, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Mental Health, and Homeless.
At the WPD you will see that everything we are working toward is based on transparency and building trust in our community. In addition to the aforementioned community meetings, we use a Citizen Review Board, advisory boards, and body cameras to ensure that we are accountable to the.
Liaisons
https://www.wichita.gov/WPD/Pages/Liaisons.aspx
Citizen Review Board
The Wichita Citizens Review Board (CRB) was created in 2017. The CRB was chartered and designed to review police misconduct cases. The CRB board meets regularly and meetings are open to the public. The CRB was established in collaboration with concerned community members and grew from community meetings initiated in 2016. To date, the CRB has been provided with information on all complaints and had the opportunity to request further review of 214 external complaints and 145 internal complaints filed against the WPD. These complaints ranged from officer discipline and misconduct to employee work performance. The CRB reviews closed case files, official reports, video recordings and witness testimony before providing, where appropriate, formal policy and procedural recommendations to the WPD.
Hispanic/Latino advisory board
https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article206104859.html
Body Cameras
All patrol officers are outfitted with body cameras which are expensive, but we believe to be a critical component of maintaining community trust in twenty-first century policing. We are always looking for grants to help off-set the cost and stay up-to-date with technology. When there is a high profile police incident involving a disenfranchised community, we invite leaders to come in and review the body camera footage.
https://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article224532130.html
Use of Force
While the best police officers have always used deescalation techniques, there have been those who have not. 2016, WPD began focusing on de-escalation techniques to resolve situations without the use of force by utilizing time, distance and communication. WPD implemented training and policies that prohibit and train against the use of choke holds, knee holds,strangleholds, shooting at vehicles unless deadly force is justified and as an absolute last resort to prevent death or great bodily harm to the officer or another person. We use less lethal weapons whenever possible. We implemented a duty to intervene any time an officer observes a fellow officer using excessive force and require comprehensive reporting on use of force cases. Since 2016, the WPD has tripled the number of crisis negotiators with specialized training communication and are able to assist with crises and highly volatile situations; Mental health training for officers is a priority.
Less lethal weapons
https://www.kake.com/story/37360700/wpd-has-new-training-less-lethal-weapons
Use of force/de-escalation
Reporting Police Misconduct From Within/Duty to Intervene
More information
https://www.wichita.gov/WPD/Pages/Response.aspx
Victim Services (Sex Crimes/Domestic Violence)
WPD recognizes sexual and domestic violence is about power and control. Working with victims of sexual and domestic violence is one of the most difficult and critical aspects to our duties as police officers. Often victims of such crimes get treated poorly in the criminal justice system which leads to them feeling further victimized and silenced because their cases go unsolved or are not prosecuted. We work with advocates, have a DIVERT Team (Domestic Intervention and Violence Reduction Team) dedicated, and work to support shelters, give victims a voice, and help educate the public. Recently one of our officers was awarded for his exceptional service to victims both on and off duty.
As a side note, I was fortunate enough to be trained as a police officer under the Duluth Model in Duluth Minnesota, where the first mandatory arrest policy for batterers in the world was created and implemented and still serves as the official model today. I worked along with the DAIP in their coordinated community response to domestic violence in their effort to reform the criminal justice system. During that time I became friends with the founder, Ellen Pence. Under Ellen I learned about the importance of accountability for police actions and words.
Rape Kits
In 2017 WPD collaborated with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) to begin the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) project. As part of the project, WPD worked with law enforcement partners to clear a backlog of untested kits. To date, all WPD test kits have been submitted for testing, and policies and procedures have been put into place to ensure no backlog ever occurs again.
https://www.kwch.com/content/news/WPD-commits-to-testing-all-sexual-assault-kits--499410761.html
Creation of DIVERT Team
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=393400748450146&ref=watch_permalink
Sgt. Paul Kimble Awarded
Discussion panel
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=914205132735482
Awareness Campaign
Supporting Shelters
DAIP and Ellen Pence
Violent Crime
Unfortunately violent crime is a reality in all cities. At the WPD we have stepped up efforts to curb violent crime. We have done this through creating a centralized unit and team who work with our community partners as well as with state, federal, and local law enforcement officials.
Violent Crime Community Response
https://www.ksn.com/news/crime/wpds-newest-task-force-strategy-to-combat-violent-crime/
Major Crime Reduction Team
Community Partnership
State, Federal, and Local Partnerships
Youth
The youth are our future and must be included in our community policing plan. Children are so often the innocent victims of society’s social ills- poverty, drugs, and mental illness just to name a few. Because of these situations, many youth either enter into a life of crime themselves or fear police because of negative contact that they or their family members have had. The WPD is committed to trying to keep youth out of the criminal justice system through early intervention. We’ve created a Juvenile Intervention Unit who works with child welfare groups, treatment providers, and youth organizations. We encourage our officers to make positive contact with youth whenever possible. We’ve also created a program called, “Bigs in Blue” that encourages our officers to be Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
Juvenile Intervention Unit
https://www.kake.com/story/42692521/wpd-announces-juvenile-intervention-unit
Early Intervention/Restorative Justice
https://www.kwch.com/2020/09/28/wichita-police-department-launches-youth-crime-intervention-effort/
Friendship over Fear
https://www.kake.com/story/41867680/using-friendship-to-break-through-fear
Summer Camp Fun with Officers
https://www.kake.com/story/40867346/summer-camp-builds-friendships-cuts-crime
Bigs in Blue
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