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The Strand Officer Program
The Galveston Police Department strives hard to develop and maintain a cohesive relationship between the merchants and residents of downtown Galveston. In order to establish a positive relationship with its citizens, The Galveston Police Department implemented The Strand Officer Program/A New Vision for a Safer Downtown. The objective of this program is to establish a community service oriented approach to policing by addressing the needs of downtown Galveston residents and its merchants.
The Strand Officer Program is the delivery of police services that includes all the aspects of traditional law enforcemtn, as well as prevention, problem-solving, community engagement, and partnerships. The Strand Officer must be commitment to developing new skills involving program-solving, networking, mediation, facilitation and conflict resolution. This type of approace helps join police and citizens together as partners in the course of both identifying and effectively addressing these issues.
Certain requiremtns and directives must then be establihsed to insure the continued success of this program. A list of the requirements and directives have been compiled to help better accomplish this task.
Requirements & Directives:
1) The Strand Officer patrols downtown on bicycle, or foot. During times of inclement weahter (extreme heat, cold, or rain) the officer will have the option to patrol in his/her assigned patrol car.
2) The Strand Officer responds to any calls for service within a define set of geographical perimeters. The perimeters are defined as; any calls for service north of Church Street to Harbor Side Drive; and any calls for service east of 25th Street to 20th Street.
3) The Strand Officer may respond to calls for service within a "responsible distance" in relationship to the Strand district when call volume dictates and additional officer assistance is needed.
4) The Stsrand Officer must remain vigilant in his/her duties by keeping the indigent population away from the Strand district. To accomplish this task the Strand Office should take the appropriate enforcement measures to keep the indigent population away by making arrests, issuing citations, and abatement of any temporary dwellings used as a place of habitation.
5) Communication requires an on-going commitment in developing long-term relationships. Therefore, the Strand Officer will maintain open lines of communication with the merchants and residents of downtown. The officer assigned to the Strand is required to provide those persons with his/her personal contact information, hours of operation and days off. Example: Provide merchants and residents a personal cell phone number as a direct means of communications.
6) The Stand Officer is required to identify and address any crime trends within the district. Once a crime trend is identified it is the Strand Officer's responsibility to report the identified crime trend to his/her supervisor(s) either in person or by e-mail. The Stsrand Officer will then take the appropriate measure(s) to inusre the crime trend is effectively addressed.
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