Page 15 - 2018 Annual Report

The goals of the social worker
program are to:

1. Cultivate a shared mission for service
providers to work together, decreasing
gaps in services and strengthening each
other’s ability to influence people who need
help and act as a safeguard in times of
crisis.

2. Provide prevention support for youth
identified as mid-level risk due to past police
contact, criminal activity or escalation in
crime type.
3. Increase the public’s overall satisfaction
with police by offering another level of
customer service and problem-solving
actions to the Police Department.

“I truly believe this will

have a significant impact on

crime in our community, and

I’m excited to see what this

public-private partnership

can accomplish.”

Social Services Coordinator Gina English
The social workers for each station were
was named the 2018 Missouri Peace Officers
hired in the spring. They worked out of patrol
Association Non-Sworn Law Enforcement
division stations, attended weekly crime
Civilian of the Year in June for building a positive
meetings and communicated regularly with relationship between law enforcement and
officers about residents in need of assistance, community needs.
especially early intervention for at-risk youth.

Chief Smith said there are a lot of people Gina English served as the coordinator for
dealing with issues in Kansas City that are the expanded program. The new social workers
frankly not the job of police to address: family continued their work with juveniles in detention
problems, poverty, addiction and more. But and in Municipal Court. They also built a diverse
those very issues are what create crime network of community resources. Their job was
problems in the community. He said social to maintain KCPD’s duty to protect and serve
workers can address such issues in a way that the entire community, placing public safety
brings lasting, positive change. above all.
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