The James Q. Wilson Award for Excellence in Community Policing is presented by the Regional Community Policing Institute – California, and sponsored by the American Military University and the Office of the Attorney General – State of California. The purpose of this award is to recognize California law enforcement agencies that have successfully institutionalized the Community Policing philosophy. One agency each year is chosen as the recipient of the award and two others receive recognition as finalists. Judging is based on the topics of problem solving, partnership with the community, partnership with public and private organizations/agencies, institutionalization of the community policing philosophy, and results.
The Monrovia Police Department is proud to have been chosen as a 2012 James Q. Wilson Award finalist in recognition of our Community Policing Program. In 1991, the Monrovia Police Department embraced a new concept for providing police service to our community. The implementation of Community Activist Policing (CAP) became not only a strategy for providing police service, but a philosophical shift in the police department’s approach to defining service. Police officers became community “activists” to affect change and solve long-term problems, utilizing any resource available in the community.
Over the past 20 years, the Monrovia Police Department has continued to improve Community Activist Policing in the community by introducing innovative programs such as Chaplains for At-Risk Youth (CARY), Monrovia Anti-Gang Intervention Committee (MAGIC), Duarte and Monrovia Anti-Gang Enforcement (DAMAGE), and the Formative Years Program. These innovative and collaborative programs and our involvement with the Monrovia Area Partnership (MAP) have been extremely effective in changing the lives of many Monrovian’s, and are a true example of the Monrovia Police Department’s dedication to Community Activist Policing.
Even as staffing levels have been cut throughout the department during the current recession, the value of Community Activist Policing and the department’s commitment to the program has not changed. The men and women of the Monrovia Police Department and the Community Policing Bureau continue today to work with citizens, city staff, the school district, businesses, faith-based and non-profit organizations, as well as property owners, to maintain the high standards set nearly 20 years ago.