C. Young-Haskins Assistant Chief	Eric Scripps  Patrol Captain	Corey Darlington Comm. Policing Captain

 

Our Operations Bureau is committed to community policing and transformation for the betterment of all community members. As an accredited agency by CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies), something less than five percent of agencies holds nationwide, the Operations Bureau joins the entire department in striving to provide excellent service and to improve, every day.  

 

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Leading the way is nothing new for our department. Our use-of-force continuum – with de-escalation tactics at its core – was implemented in 1996. We continually strive to provide the best for our community and officers through efforts like procedural justice/implicit bias training, a department psychologist, youth listening programs, a mental health co-responder program, body-worn cameras, best practices like the duty-to-intervene and more.

But we realize we can’t rely on past successes – we must continually improve. As examples, we are currently following the recommendations of 21st Century Policing Solutions on how our department can lead 21st century policing in anti-racism. We have recently signed the 30X30 Pledge to advance women in policing, with the goal of reaching 30% representation of women in police recruit classes by 2030. And our hiring efforts are focused on actively working to identify and hire new and experienced officers who reflect the diversity of Tacoma.

 

Community Policing and Patrol

The Operations Bureau includes two divisions: the Community Policing Division and the Patrol Division. The Community Policing Division is responsible for handling neighborhood and business concerns which require extra time and effort. This is done through our Community Liaison Officers in partnership with other city departments like Neighborhood and Community Services, Tax and License, code enforcement and more. The Patrol Division is responsible for handling calls for service, conducting preliminary criminal investigations, responding to emergencies, enforcing traffic laws and investigating accidents.

The Tacoma Police Department seeks to keep the peace and maintain order throughout our community. Education and mutual partnerships solve many more problems than making arrests. If a problem can be worked out – or compliance gained without arrest – that is our preferred approach.

 

Working Together

We are committed to improving the security of our community and we do this through continual training and working hand-in-hand with the community. In addition to ongoing training for all officers, we focus on training for various situations and possibilities through our special teams like SWAT, explosive ordinance detail, marine services unit and more. We also keep regional involvement with outside agencies and federal initiatives aimed at keeping Tacoma safe.

We remain ever vigilant in working with the public and our emergency response partners to understand and prevent crime from occurring. To that end, the watchfulness of individual citizens is critical to the protection of our city, and we encourage all community members to become involved in its safety by understanding how to report crime or by leaving a confidential tip or information.