So what is a strategic plan, and why is it important that it be created by a team rather than an individual? The Columbia Heights Police Department’s Strategic Plan is a document that is designed to communicate our organizational goals, the actions needed to achieve those goals, and several other critical elements designed to highlight and steer the direction of the department. Strategies such as communication, training, and both problem-oriented and community-oriented policing methods are analyzed by the members of the strategic planning committee to enforce the future success of the department. What’s working? What’s not? Why? How can we make our department better? All of these questions and many more are asked, and then answered as a group. Action plans are given, agreed upon, and installed into the strategic plan, creating a blue print for the department to follow in all of its future endeavors. New initiatives and committees are proposed, and the effectiveness of existing committees and programs are debated at length. This plan will then be reviewed and adjusted as needed during quarterly evaluations, again by means of this committee of eighteen members dedicated to ensuring ongoing adherence and improvement to the strategic plan.
A copy of the Strategic Plan document can be viewed and downloaded here.