Community Policing Initiatives
Currently the Greenville Police Department utilizes numerous methods and programs to address the city's crime and drug-related problems. These methods are also directed toward crime prevention and furthers our philosophy of community-oriented policing.
IMPACT
Area Policing Plan
Downtown Deployment Strategy
Special Victims Unit
Citizen's Police Academy
Increased Mobilization of Police And Communities Together (IMPACT)
IMPACT’s mission is a philosophy and managerial strategy based on the idea that our officers develop a partnership to work together with private citizens, other departmental resources, city, state and private local resources in order to create ways to initiate pro-active short and long term efforts to reduce crime, social decay, and the physical decay of neighborhoods.
Historically, we have been applying this philosophy in specific targeted areas, but now we have expanded the philosophy to the entire city. Our mission is the provision of programs and services that foster police community relations, crime prevention awareness participation, identification and apprehension of offenders, maintenance of public order, the protection of lives and property, and the overall improvement of the quality of life of our citizens. The officers maintain an office at the IMPACT Substation on 1124 West 5th St. (pictured below) which is staffed on a part-time basis.
Two Core Components of Community Policing for this process:
1) Community-Police Partnership
- Getting to know the community.
- Attending neighborhood meetings.
- Going door to door / foot patrol / bicycle patrol.
- Becoming in tune with citizens concerns.
- Organizing Neighborhood / Community events
- Developing trusting relationships with citizens.
2) Problem Solving
- An approach where officers seek to work with and empower identified stakeholders to identify, analyze, and provide solutions to underlying circumstances that create surface incidents that negatively impact the overall quality of life in a neighborhood.
- Problem Solving is the action that drives this philosophy.
- A solved community problem or concern is what determines our productivity and effectiveness.
Housing Authority Unit
The Greenville Police Department Housing Authority Unit is a partnership program between the Greenville Police Department and the Greenville Housing Authority. The partnership provides police officers to perform motor and foot patrols in Greenville's public housing communities. These officers also participate in community meetings and other functions at the request of the Greenville Housing Authority and various citizen's groups. The officers of the Housing Authority Unit maintain an office at 1103 Broad St.
This program was recognized as one of the top ten innovative, effective programs in the world by being the recipient of the prestigious Webber-Seavey Award. The award was presented at the 100th Annual Conference of the International Associations of Chief of Police. The Housing Authority Unit is part of the IMPACT team under the Department's Patrol Special Operations under the supervision of Lt. E. L. Phipps. You can contact the Housing Authority Unit at 252-329-5138. You may contact Lt. Phipps at ephipps@greenvillenc.gov or by calling 252-329-4364.
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Area Policing Plan
Through the Area Policing Plan, the citizens residing in the various geographical areas within the city limits of Greenville now have personal contact with police officers who they become familiar and comfortable with. This aspect of the Area Policing Plan is consistent with Community Policing Initiatives from across the United States. Area Commanders are able to focus the activities of officers in each district in a tailor-made approach to ensure the most effective and efficient response to the problems in the area. Also, the district officers will work to help empower the community members in their respective districts to develop solutions to identified problems. These techniques develop strong community/police bonds that allow for better working relationships, increased quality of life and decreased criminal activity. For complete details on the philosophies and strategies behind the Area Policing Plan, click here.
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Downtown Deployment Strategy
In light of recent tragic crimes in downtown Greenville, the Greenville Police Department releases its Downtown Deployment Strategy.
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Special Victims Unit
The Greenville Police Department's Special Victims Unit investigates domestic violence, violence against women, and juvenile crime. The Special Victims Unit strives to assist victims of crime and their families in returning to the level of normalcy enjoyed prior to the offense or tragedy. The goal is to break the cycle of violence through prevention, victim advocacy and juvenile intervention.
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Abuse does not discriminate. It occurs in every ethnic background, race, religion, educational level, income, age, gender, and marital status. Abuse is not always physical. It can also be emotional, verbal, sexual, possessional, and/or financial.
The FBI estimates that a woman is beaten in her home every nine seconds.
In the US, more than 4,000, women die each year as a result of domestic violence.
According to FBI statistics, every 3 minutes, a woman is raped in the United States.
Are you a victim of domestic violence? Does your partner physically abuse you by punching, slapping, kicking, choking, shoving, or threatening you with a weapon? Does your partner control what you do, who you see and where you go? Have you given up important people or activities in your life to keep your partner happy? Is your partner extremely jealous and possessive? Do you "walk on eggshells" rehearsing what you will say so that you will not anger your partner?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you are being abused. To end the abuse, call the Special Victims Unit and get help at 252-329-4181 or 252-329-4315.
End The Silence - Brochure Inside, Brochure Outside. Click the links for a brochure that informs you of your victim rights and the support available to you (Provided by GPD in collaboration with the Family Violence Program, Inc. of Pitt County). The brochure also provides important contact numbers for victims of domestic violence and abuse.
What is sexual assault? Sexual assault is any forced sexual activity against a person's will. The force may be physical force or mental and emotional pressures, coercion or manipulation. If you become a victim of sexual assault or rape, contact the Special Victims Unit and remember the following:
Preserve all physical evidence. Do not shower, bathe, or douche. Save the clothing you were wearing at the time of the assault. Do not disturb anything in the area where the assault occurred. This evidence is extremely important if your case goes to trial. Go to the hospital emergency room for medical care and evidence collection.
Call a friend or family member for emotional support and seek counseling and information services from REAL Crisis. Special Victims Unit officers provide counselors or therapists that can assist you in the aftermath of the assault.
Victim Advocacy
Whether the crime is burglary, homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, or other offense, victim advocates are there to act as a liason to ensure that every avenue of assistance is extended to the victim and/or the victim's family from the time of the offense until the date of the trial.
Juvenile Operations, D.A.R.E, & School Resource Officers
The Greenville Police Department's Special Victims Unit is committed to the development, implementation and perpetuation of programs designed to prevent and control juvenile delinquency within the community and protect juvenile crime victims. The goal is to curb behavior which may lead to violent crime and to offer resources to juvenile crime victims.
A D.A.R.E. officer teaches the dangers of drugs to school age children. The Special Victims Unit also includes the Department's School Resource Officers. A School Resource Officer has been placed in each of the high schools and middle schools. The SROs provide police services to the schools and interact with the students to gain voluntary compliance with rules and regulations.
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Citizen's Police Academy
As part of our community oriented policing philosophy, the Greenville Police Department has implemented the Citizen's Police Academy. The centerpiece of Community Oriented Policing is to begin to maintain a partnership between the police and the community. The Citizen's Police Academy is an addition to our commitment to serving the citizens of Greenville. For more information on the Citizen's Police Academy contact Cpl. Kip Gaskins at kipgaskins@greenvillenc.gov or call him at 252-329-4158.
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