CRPD to implement ‘community action team’

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Cedar Rapids Police Department will deploy a team of officers into at-risk neighborhoods in the city to address crime and quality-of-life issues.

Included in the new city budget, set for approval Thursday night, is funding to hire four new police officers. Chief Wayne Jerman said those hires will allow him to create what he calls a Police Community Action Team, or PACT.

'The PACT is a team of officers that are going to be deployed into at-risk communities or neighborhoods and address problems,' Jerman said.

Jerman said the PCAT will be charged not only with solving the problem but getting to the root cause.

The PCAT officers primarily will work in uniform as do other patrol officers, but will not be part of a designated shift or beat. This will allow patrol officers to stay on their regular beats, rather than moving to problem areas when issues arrive. The team will be deployed to any area in the city in need of additional resources.

'Instead of the current practice of shifting the platoon or shifting resources, when the PCAT is operational the regular patrol officers can remain doing what they're supposed to be doing,' Jerman said.

Jerman said the situation will dicate how the officers are deployed. If they are making arrests or traffic stops, the officers could be two to a squad car. If increased visibility in a neighborhood is their goal, the officers could be deployed one to a car. Officers could also patrol on bike or foot, Jerman said.

The idea is for the team to be flexible enough to address problems when they occur.

Jerman has ample experience with the PCAT concept. He was the commander of the original PCAT that was implemented at his former department in Montgomery County, Maryland, in 1994. Originally one team, Montgomery County's PCAT since has expanded its structure include to one central team and six district teams, Jerman said.

'From my experience, having a team like this is very, very effective in controlling crime issues, quality-of-life issues, the variety of issues that face the police department,' he said.

The PCAT will report directly to the captain of patrol. Should one of the three district commanders require the services of the PCAT, they will submit a request to the patrol captain who, in turn, will determine how to best deploy the PCAT.

Jerman said the PCAT will address anything from traffic issues to crime trends, such as a spate of burglaries.

'The sky is the limit,' he said. 'That's what's great about having this team — they should be flexible enough, plus knowledgeable enough, to handle a variety of issues and problems.'

The team will also tackle quality of life issues, which Jerman said could include public intoxication, public urination or graffiti and vandalism.

Funding for the four new officers will not be allocated until July 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year. Jerman said he's not yet certain when the team will be operational, noting the lengthy hiring process for officers.

Jerman said the PCAT is separate from the department's focused deterrence model, which has been in development since Jerman and department staff met with the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department last year to learn strategies for addressing the city's ongoing violence issues.