2017 Charleston/Kanawha County Documentation Project

Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Application for the

“2017 Charleston/Kanawha County Documentation Project”

Grantees:  City of Charleston and Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department

Please send comments to druggrant@cityofcharleston.org

Community policing has become a way of life for police agencies to work with and get to know the people they have sworn to protect and serve.  Working with citizens in a collaborative manner creates a cohesive effort to have a safe and crime-free place to live and work.  According to DOJ’s Community Oriented Policing Services, “Community policing emphasizes proactive problem solving in a systematic and routine fashion. Rather than responding to crime only after it occurs, community policing encourages agencies to proactively develop solutions to the immediate underlying conditions contributing to public safety problems.”

The Charleston Police Department and Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department have focused for many years on building strong relationships with community leaders and citizens.  These relationships help build trust that will only enhance the officers’ ability to provide good police services to all areas of the county.  Getting ahead of problems by forming partnerships with different groups has not only created the opportunities for more citizen involvement in police sponsored events and activities, but also allows the citizens get to know the officers on a personal level.  Building those relationships requires honesty and transparency on both sides by being able to come together and get input to help come to a reasonable conclusion for any problem or situation.

The funds awarded to the City of Charleston Police Department will be utilized to purchase in-car and body worn cameras for assignment to their Patrol Division line cars.  The officers having the capabilities to video and audio tape their encounters have many benefits including officer safety, agency liability, training, criminal prosecution, citizen demeanor and community perception.   These information gained from the videos can be utilized to exonerate or prosecute a suspect, train new police officers coming onboard on officer safety techniques and protect a police agency from liability. 

The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department will utilize their funds to purchase crime scene supplies that will be stored in the Patrol officers’ and evidence technicians’ cruisers.  These supplies will include digital cameras with SD cards, digital voice recorders, portable hard drives and thumb drives and crime scene supplies such as robber gloves, gunshot residue (GSR) kits, drug test kits, batteries and bodily fluid testing kits.  These items will allow them to more effectively investigate crimes and provide evidentiary support to assist in the full resolution of criminal cases through the court system.