City of Colorado Springs, CO
10/25/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/25/2022 09:31
Colorado Springs Police win Community Policing Award for Play COS
the Colorado Springs Police Department was awarded the IACP/Walmart Leadership in Community Policing Award for their Play COS program during an awards ceremony last week at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference.
The award recognizes promising practices that utilize effective and long-lasting partnerships to make local, national, and international communities safer.
Play COS
When the CSPD Community Relations Unit first conceptualized the program, the idea was simple: Improve police-community relations. Play COS does that by creating an opportunity for the community to interact with officers in an organic, simple, and fun way. Nothing too serious, just officers and community members having a positive interaction.
Patrol officers keep sports balls (i.e. footballs, soccer balls, basketballs) in their cruisers to give out to kids and teens during their shift. The program also involves sports/giveaway events in which officers interact with numerous young community members through sports and recreation.
The program crosses social, economic, racial, and ethnic boundaries.
"We do not have to speak the same language, or come from the same background, to find connections through sports. The barriers we have seen broken down within our community are inspiring."
Play COS was established in January 2021. Officers have already given away over 3,100 balls to local kids and teens. There have been 64 Play COS events and donations made to 3 community centers and 13 local schools across all of Colorado Springs. Play COS has created over 14,000 positive police/community interactions since its inception. CSPD have also helped eight other local departments, as well as close to two dozen departments worldwide and local military contacts set the groundwork for similar programs.
"Everyone at the CSPD is proud to be honored with this award. With that said, Play COS is not just a CSPD program. This is a community program that we have the privilege of running. Play COS would not have been possible without generous donations from large corporations, small local businesses, and individual community members who all want to make our community a better place. We are all incredibly thankful and humbled to bring this community program to life," - Chief Adrian Vasquez, Colorado Springs Police Department.