Contributed by Sgt. David Bernhardt

In the beginning of 1991 the West Palm Beach Police Department instituted a community policing program. This was initiated because of the department's belief that it was the responsibility of its officers to go into the community and ask the citizens what their needs were. Historically police agencies, would compile crime reports then tell the citizens what was in their best interest. Agencies would then institute programs without the involvement of the citizenry it serves. Originally, there were three original designated community policing areas, with one officer assigned to each area. Over the next four years community policing continued to expand, but only as a specialized unit.

In the summer of 1995 the West Palm Beach Police Department, took the next step in the evolution of modern police work. This took the department from a specialized community policing concept, to a department wide problem solving philosophy. With this next step, every officer within the police department is involved in their community.

Problem Orientated Policing is the operational aspect of community policing and the next logical step in the evolution of community policing. Problem Solving becomes a department wide philosophy, and is incorporated into every officers thought process of handling problems within his or her assignment. The underlying principle of Problem Orientated Policing is that recurring incidents must be thoughtfully analyzed to understand why they continue to happen. Problem Orientated Policing makes the beat officer accountable to the community he serves.

A key element of Problem Orientated Policing is the POP Project. Projects are how officers document and evaluate problems they are trying to reconcile. Officers will document the resources used. Dates of events related to the project, and an evaluation of the project. Projects vary in nature, a project could address criminal activity or a recurring incident, such as a false alarm to a particular address. Since 1995 officers of the West Palm Beach Police Department have conducted over 250 projects, 170 in 1997 alone. The growth in the number of projects being conducted every year is contributed to the fact that officers see the positive effects of Problem Orientated Policing.

Problem Orientated Policing is being embraced by more police departments every year, and our department is proud to be a leader in this approach of law enforcement.