Public Trust and Transparency

The DuPont Police Department is committed to providing ethical, accountable, and impartial policing practices and policies.

 

Public trust is the single, most important commodity law enforcement agencies possess in order to accomplish their mission of achieving safe and secure communities.  As with anything of value, this commodity can be lost much easier than it is gained.  The DuPont Police Department is a values-based, professional police agency with the mission to, “…protect life, fight crime, uphold individual rights, and support the community.”  Our core values of “DPD” – Duty, Professionalism, Dedication - is the foundation of all that we do.  

As stated in the 2015 President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, “The public confers legitimacy only on those they believe are acting in procedurally just ways…community members’ willingness to trust the police depends on whether they believe that police actions reflect community values and incorporate the principles of procedural justice and legitimacy.”  

The 21st Century Policing Task Force was comprised of law enforcement officers and executives, community members, civic leaders, advocates, researchers, academics and others in order to study community-police problems from all perspectives. The result was six recommendations, or “pillars,” for areas where police departments can better obtain and maintain public trust while engaging in professional police services.   These six pillars are: Building Trust and Legitimacy, Policy and Oversight, Technology and Social Media, Community Policing and Crime Reduction, Officer Training and Education, and Officer Safety and Wellness.

In an effort to continually improve all areas of our organization while achieving public trust and providing transparency, the DuPont Police Department has implemented several proactive initiatives.  In 2020, we were the first law enforcement agency in Pierce County to equipped every patrol officer with body worn cameras.  Every DuPont Police Officer attends Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) through the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC), pursuant to Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 43.101.427.  Beyond the mandated CIT training, DPD officers also attend crisis de-escalation, cultural awareness and anti-bias training, use of force, legal updates, ethics, and leadership training.  

  1. DPD Employee Empowerment Model
  2. Directive On neck/airway control, de-escalation, duty to intervene
  3. Chiefs Employee Expectations Briefing
  4. Commend/Complaint
  5. Public Disclosure Requests (PDR)

empowerment model