DAYTON — Dayton city commissioners hired a consultant to manage a strategic plan for the city’s police department.
Dayton Police Department has not had a new strategic plan in close to 20 years.
The goal is to have a plan that officers on the street have a say in creating.
“This is their department, not our department,” Chief Kamran Afzal said.
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Afzal said the strategic plans should not be some paper plan sitting on a shelf, but something officers implement every day.
“Build resiliency in the department, the guys and gals that do the hard work should have a say-so in the direction,” he said.
The chief plans to form a committee of officers to work with a consultant hired by city commissioners.
He hopes to have half of those officers work in street patrol or as a detective.
He wants them to look at things like understanding every crime victim has gone through trauma, also work on procedures that reduce crime and instill trust in police.
Amanda Johnson of Dayton said people need to believe people are working to do good for the community.
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“It’s like cutting red tape a little and I think that’s always great when everyone gets involved,” Johnson said.
City commissioners paid $67,000 to hire a consultant to spearhead this effort.
Leaders here believe the police reform process and other changes make it past time for a new vision.
“The city of Dayton is not what it was in 2004 so I think this is the right time,” Joe Parlette, deputy city manager said.
Police serving on the committee will decide action items for the strategic plan, what budget impacts they might have and how to measure success in each item.
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