The Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced that it will conduct an organizational assessment of the North Miami Police Department through its Collaborative Reform Initiative. Over approximately the next year, the North Miami Police Department will work with the COPS Office's Collaborative Reform Initiative Team to focus on:

• Crime Prevention and Analysis

• Community Engagement

• Technology

• Employee Wellness, Training and Development, and Retention

• Resource Analysis and Strategic Planning

• Oversight and Accountability

"The Collaborative Reform Initiative is an important vehicle for law enforcement agencies that want to improve how they operate and how they work with their communities," said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. "The Organizational Assessment process is the most intensive form of review and support we offer under this program, and credit goes to the North Miami Police Department for requesting this assistance."

"This is a completely voluntary program, and it is always a significant step when a law enforcement executive asks for this type of review," said Director Hugh T. Clements, Jr of the COPS Office. "We applaud Chief Cherise Gause for making this request. It is not just the agency that benefits from this type of work, but the entire community will reap the benefits of this in-depth examination."

Regular updates on the team's work with the North Miami Police Department will be provided as part of the transparency and public accountability of this new organizational assessment effort at cops.usdoj.gov/active-oa-site-north-miami-fl-police-department.

The Collaborative Reform Initiative encompasses three programs offering expert services to state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies: the Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center, Critical Response, and Organizational Assessment programs (complete details of these programs can be found at cops.usdoj.gov/collaborativereform). Managed out of the COPS Office, this continuum of services is designed to build trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve; improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness; enhance officer safety and wellness; build agencies' capacity for organizational learning and self-improvement; and promote community policing practices nationwide.

The Organizational Assessment program provides the most intensive form of technical assistance on the continuum, involving in-depth assessments and long-term assistance on systemic issues that can challenge community trust and confidence. A continual assessment and implementation process ensures that time and resources are used to focus on identifying areas for improvement, reinforcing agency strengths, and assisting with the implementation of improvements expeditiously. At the same time, the process provides transparency and accountability with routine public reporting. Each engagement will be supported by a multidisciplinary assessment team composed of subject matter experts with diverse experience and perspectives including in law enforcement, community engagement, research and evaluation, program management, and organizational reform.

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Justice Department responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Justice Department agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation's crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has been appropriated more than $20 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 138,000 officers.