Justice Department Announces That It Will Provide Technical Assistance to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Under COPS Office’s Collaborative Reform Initiative

The Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced it will engage with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) through the COPS Office's Collaborative Reform Initiative's Critical Response program.

In conjunction with the National Policing Institute, and at the request of IMPD Chief Christopher Bailey, the COPS Office will conduct an independent review and analysis of data, records, policies, and practices related to officer involved shootings. The review will also examine the department's policies, procedures, training, and practices to assist the Department as they work to make them more reflective of accepted state and national best and emerging practices.

"It takes a real commitment to transparency to engage in these types of reviews," said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. "This is a significant step for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department in their efforts to ensure effective community policing, and we know both the Department and the community will benefit."

"Taking an in-depth look at these areas is always a positive step and can result in real changes," said Director Hugh T. Clements, Jr. of the COPS Office. "We credit Chief Bailey and the leadership of the department for asking for this assistance."

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 www.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 Critical Response program is designed to provide targeted technical assistance (TA) to state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies experiencing high profile events, major incidents, or sensitive issues of varying need. Critical Response is highly customizable by providing flexible assistance to law enforcement agencies that have recently experienced a critical incident or identified an issue of significant community concern in their department's operations. The TA generally falls into three categories: (1) immediate delivery of TA to address a pressing and acute need, (2) data analysis, and (3) after-action reviews to understand and learn from law enforcement and public safety responses to critical incidents or issues.

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.