A special Riley County Law Board work session took place on Thursday night. At the session Riley County Police Department leaders talked about their command structure, and efforts to mold the program to be efficient and fair.
RCPD Director Bradley Schoen briefed the board on the “Intelligence Lead Policing” philosophy used by the department. It includes data mining records to help forecast crime, and allocate resources to achieve the greatest impact. The department uses an analyst to chart regions of likely activity, and patrols are more frequent in these places. A repeat offender system also tracks individuals, but officials said the program takes out all of the demographic data and focuses on the specific crimes. An in-depth report will be filed later to further explain both systems.
Another major concern was addressed as it pertained to training the force on proper police techniques in remaining professional in high stress situations. After the briefing the board members expressed confidence in the police department, and even congratulated the department’s leaders on their efforts to be forward thinking while leading the department.
Agenda items will now have a standardized method of being added to upcoming regular meetings. Board members will forward their items to the board’s chair, or the attorney, and those items will then be placed directly on the official agenda. Discussions turned towards moving the time of meetings from noon to early evening to allow more community members to attend. This discussion was tabled to be taken up during the upcoming regular session.
