On May 28, the Broomfield Police Department (BPD) posted initial recommendations and findings from their community-wide listening tour, which they launched last year. The tour was initiated by the department to learn from community feedback what it is doing well, what can be improved, and how community members want to engage with the police.
According to the department, the engagement consisted of three parts: an online community-wide survey, in-person community listening sessions, and a business feedback form. The initial recommendations posted this week were created by the BPD after spending this past winter and spring reviewing all feedback received from the nine listening sessions, Impressions of the Broomfield Police survey and the Broomfield Business Feedback Form.
The recommendations for the department are as follows:
“Prioritize Public Safety and Enforcement: Increase focus on traffic enforcement, code violations and unhoused encampments. Increase presence in neighborhood and public events.
Expand Community Engagement Initiatives: Increase participation in programs like Coffee with a Cop and explore innovative engagement opportunities tailored to specific community needs.
Enhance Communication Strategies: Improve social media engagement, offer multilingual communication and provide consistent updates on policing strategies.
Strengthen Officer Training and Awareness: Implement expanded training on mental health, crisis intervention and neurodiversity to improve interactions with vulnerable populations. Prioritize professional police conduct emphasizing trust and respect.
Improve Victim Support and Follow-up Procedures: Ensure officers are equipped with resources for victims and streamline communication between dispatch, officers and victim advocates to ensure proper case handling.”
Common themes that the department heard while conducting its listening tour were that the department could have “greater transparency; better information sharing; expanded bilingual outreach; interest in enhanced mental health support; homelessness outreach and crisis response services;” amongst others. Areas that the BPD received positive feedback for included “community outreach, responsiveness, professionalism, and visible presence in the community.”
The department stated that the BPD will release proposed action steps to support each of these recommendations later this summer.
