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CoWINn TER 2 nection016/17 Engaging with the Community The Police Department’s proactive approach to community relations – page 2 2-5 6 7 8 9 10 & 11 12 13 14 & 15 Back Police Nextdoor Rental Projects Budget Winter Aisle of Lights Performing Library Holidays Housing Arts 2 CORALVILLE CONNECTION POLICE TSTRENIGETHENS ING POLICE NOT ONLY COMBAT CRIME, BUT THEY WORK TO PREVENT IT BY DEVELOPING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY. A photo of four Coralville police officers standing in line for the opening of a local donut shop, captioned “Fueling the stereo type. #communitypolicing” quickly garnered humored reactions on the police department’s Facebook and Twitter accounts last fall. The department is not one to shy away from occasional humor about police officers and donuts if it helps reach more people and builds relationships within the community. For the Coralville Police Department—which takes those relationships seriously—“community policing” is more than a hashtag. It is about developing strong relationships between local law enforcement and citizens to build trust and boost crime prevention. WINTER 2016-17 POLICE CORALVILLE CONNECTION 3 POLICE OFFICERS MEET WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS AT COFFEE WITH A COP Community relations in the Coralville Police Building relationships with citizens is often Department focus on creating positive interactions intertwined with serving the community. Child seat between the police and the public outside of crisis safety checks, shred days to prevent identity theft, situations, across all age groups and demographics. blood drives, drug take-back events, station tours, By proactively fostering connections within the school presen tations, and event partnerships with community, pursuing feedback, and establishing area organizations are staples of the department’s programs and events where police can connect outreach events. “Cop on a Rooftop” raises money with citizens, the department can gain a better for Special Olympics of Iowa, and junior high understanding of community concerns. When students head into summer with a positive community members feel heard by law message from the annual Substance Free enforcement, they are empowered to help with Summer party the department helps to host. neighborhood watch, report crime, and work Getting to know residents isn’t the only focus of together with police in the event of an emergency. police community relations; facilitating connections between neighbors is an important component to COMMUNITY RELATIONS crime prevention, including National Night Out, as well as the department’s presence on Nextdoor FOCUSES ON CREATING (see We’re on Nextdoor! p. 6), which supports a POSITIVE INTERACTIONS virtual neighborhood watch program. BETWEEN THE POLICE AND The department also partners with area law THE PUBLIC OUTSIDE OF CRISIS enforcement agencies for the Johnson County SITUATIONS, ACROSS ALL AGE Citizen’s Police Academy and a variety of other GROUPS AND DEMOGRAPHICS. public education, safety, and outreach events. The list of the Coralville Police Department’s Learn More community relations activities is long—and growing. For more infor mation, contact: Coffee with a Cop was launched in October 2016, inviting anyone in the community to stop by and Community Relations Officer chat with officers or discuss concerns over a cup of coffee (more Coffee with a Cop drop-in gatherings Adam Jennings are planned for the future). The department’s PHONE: activity and resulting public response on social 319.248.1800 media tools like Facebook (@CoralvillePD) and EMAIL: Twitter (@CoralvillePD) have continually increased [email protected] since their inception, proving to be a successful way to engage with thousands of citizens over www.coralville.org/police crime alerts, public safety news, staff spotlights, photos, and humor. www.coralville.org 319.248.1700 4 CORALVILLE CONNECTION POLICE e t CORALVILLE’S LONGEST-SERVING POLICE CHIEF WILL RETIRE IN EARLY 2 017. Coralville Police Chief Barry Bedford’s dedication to law enforcement spans more than four decades. In 1973, Chief Bedford began his u career with the Coralville Police Department. In his first 15 years with the department, he served as a patrol officer, juvenile officer, and detective. In 1988, Bedford was appointed Chief of Police by Kelly Hayworth in one of Hayworth’s first official acts as Coralville l City Administrator. Chief Bedford’s dedication to law enforcement extends beyond the city he serves. He has been an adjunct instructor in criminal justice at Kirkwood Community College since 2001, and has been involved in the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Executive Board of the Iowa Police Chiefs Association. His volunteer service to the community includes the Johnson County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Hawkeye Area Youth for Christ/ a Youth Guidance, the Iowa City/Coralville Community Leadership Program, and the advisory board for the Iowa City/Coralville Salvation Army. He was named 2014 Law Enforcement Executive of the Year by the Iowa Police Chiefs Association for his outstanding service to the criminal justice system and the law enforcement profession, and for his commitment and dedication above and beyond normal professional duties. Throughout his career, Chief Bedford has been recognized as a s respected teacher, mentor, friend, and leader. In addition to being Coralville’s longest-serving police chief, he is one of Iowa’s longest- TO THE serving police chiefs and one of Coralville’s longest-serving city CHIEF employees. WINTER 2016-17 POLICE CORALVILLE CONNECTION 5 TIMELINE FOR POLICE CHIEF HIRING PROCESS OCTOBER 2016: OCTOBER & NOVEMBER: NOVEMBER-JANUARY: JANUARY 2017: LATE JANUARY: City Council Position profile Evaluation of applicants Assessment center, New police chief approves hiring development, national job and selection of final interviews, and appointment and Moulder and posting, candidate search, semi-finalists open house for the retirement of Chief Associates Police and application process community to meet Barry Bedford Management and talk with finalists Consultants POLICE DEPARTMENT ASSIGNMENTS & PROMOTIONS SGT. JUAN COLEMAN Coralville Juan was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in August 2016. He was Begins Police hired as a patrol officer in 2006, and in March 2015 he was assigned to the Community Chief Search Relations Officer position, where he served until his promotion. The City has hired Des Moines-based Moulder and Associates Police Management Consultants to guide the search process for Barry Bedford’s successor as Coralville Chief of Police. The firm has led police chief searches for multiple cities OFFICER HANNA in Iowa including Marion and North Liberty. DVORAK Hanna was assigned to the In fall 2016, Moulder and Associates worked position of Detective in July 2016. with a team of community members, staff, She was hired as a patrol officer and the City Council to create a “recruitment in 2005, was assigned to the profile” that identifies the background, Community Relations Officer experience, education, and skills required for position from 2010 through 2012, the next Chief of Police. This profile will be and returned to Patrol where she used in tandem with the City’s job description served until her recent assignment. to reflect the desired characteristics of the next chief of the Coralville Police Department. Community members will be invited to meet OFFICER ADAM and talk with the finalists at a public open JENNINGS house in early 2017. Per city ordinance, the Adam was assigned to the City Administrator will appoint the Community Relations Officer position Police Chief subject to approval in August 2016. He was hired as a of the City Council. patrol officer in 2007, and served as the department’s gang officer for Comments and questions several years while assigned to the may be directed to: Patrol Division. He was previously Human Resources/Risk an officer with the Ottumwa, Iowa, Manager Mike Funke Police Department. [email protected] 319.248.1700 www.coralville.org 319.248.1700 6 CORALVILLE CONNECTION NEXTDOOR The Coralville Connection is published quarterly for the citizens of Coralville, Iowa, to keep them informed of city policies and developments. If you have comments or suggestions concerning this or future issues, please contact: We’re on Jenn Coleman, Editor Coralville City Hall PO Box 5127 Coralville, IA 52241 [email protected] John Lundell Mayor [email protected] Jill Dodds City Council Many residents in Coralville use Nextdoor (www.nextdoor.com), [email protected] Tom Gill a free, private online social network for neighborhoods. Now the City Council [email protected] City of Coralville and the Coralville Police Department have joined Laurie Goodrich Nextdoor as another way to communicate directly with residents. City Council [email protected] Mitch Gross Nextdoor is used for neighbor-to-neighbor communication. Each Coralville City Council neighborhood has its own private Nextdoor website, accessible only to residents [email protected] who live in that area. Residents can use it as a “virtual neighborhood watch” to Bill Hoeft City Council share information about public safety issues in the vicinity, or to connect with [email protected] those who live nearby about local services or lost pets. Neighborhoods establish Ellen Habel Asst. City Administrator and manage their own Nextdoor website, and all members must verify that they [email protected]