Message from the Chief of Police

Welcome,

On behalf of the officers and employees of the Huntersville Police Department, I would like to welcome you to our Internet website. We are pleased to be of service to the public and other visitors through the vast world of the Internet.

The Huntersville Police Department is a full service law enforcement agency providing professional police services twenty-four (24) hours a day. The Department has authorized approximately 84 sworn police officer positions, and a civilian support staff of 9 full-time members in FY2011. The North Mecklenburg Communications Center located in Cornelius provides the Town’s call taking and dispatch service for police services.

The Huntersville Police Department’s mission is “to improve the quality of life in the Town of Huntersville by working in partnership with the community to preserve life, enforce the law, maintain order, provide quality police services and to reduce the fear and incidence of crime.”

The Department can best do this by working collaboratively and in partnership with other governmental agencies, businesses, neighborhood groups and the public. The Department believes that simply reacting to incidents of crime or disorder is not enough, as we must form meaningful, working partnerships with others in the community to make Huntersville a safer community. This is truly “Community Policing.”

Community Policing is a philosophy and an organizational strategy that promotes a partnership between people and their police. It is based on the premise that both police and the citizens must work together to identify, prioritize, and solve community concerns. The Department must be creative and innovative as we work with neighborhoods to reduce and prevent crime, disorder and fear. The Department will be relentless in our efforts to identify and arrest criminals, and we must also be actively involved in helping our citizens develop long-term solutions to their community problems.

The Huntersville Police Department and concerned, involved citizens are making a difference. The Department will continue to build on these positive relationships and accomplishments as we continue to grow together in the future.

I am confident that as you browse through the information that accompanies this message, you will quickly understand the tremendous pride of the dedicated men and women of the Huntersville Police Department. We welcome and invite your questions, concerns or suggestions for improved police services. We look forward to serving you and please let us know how we are doing.

Vision Statement:

A Huntersville where all can live, work and visit safely and without fear, protected by a Police Department comprised of ONE TEAM of professionals pursuing excellence and continuous improvement, striving to make a positive difference to achieve a safer Huntersville.

Mission Statement:

The Mission of the Huntersville Police Department, through a Community Policing Partnership, is to improve the quality of life and provide a sense of safety and security in our community, through the delivery of outstanding services with the highest standards of Honor, Professionalism and Dedication to Duty.

Values:

Honor – We recognize that honesty, integrity and truthfulness are the foundations of our profession. We will constantly strive to maintain the highest standards recognizing their importance in upholding our credibility within the law enforcement profession and the community we serve. We will promote the pride we have in our profession by acting responsibly, being accountable for our actions and holding others accountable for their actions. We are committed to the highest principles of integrity and fairness to maintain respect and public trust for the citizens we proudly serve.

Professionalism – We recognize the responsibility to expand our knowledge, improve our skills and develop personal and professional excellence. Through technology, education and training our employees will be prepared to meet the future needs of our community. We are ONE TEAM of professionals working together, demonstrating collaboration through mutual reliability, openness and flexibility to accomplish our goals. We value an environment that fosters the development of leaders at all levels to identify, and resolve issues that face our Department and Community. We will continue to achieve excellence as a law enforcement agency by maintaining the highest standards.

Dedication to Duty– We are dedicated to performing our duties in accordance with the Constitution, State Laws, and Town Ordinances, while protecting the rights of all individuals. We recognize our responsibility to deliver an outstanding level of commitment, openness, performance and provision of services to all with the attitude that everything is worth our best effort. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality of service to protect our community. We are committed to respond to the needs of the community with compassion and concern through community policing partnerships in order to achieve a safe and secure town, to reduce the threat of crime.

Huntersville Police Department Operational Service Philosophy Statement

The philosophy of any organization embodies the guiding principles and beliefs under which the members of the organization strive to achieve their vision, mission, core organizational values, goals, and objectives. Quality Policing, community policing, and problem solving are the core policing service philosophies and strategies of this Department. The philosophy of the men and women of the Huntersville Police Department may be summarized as follows:

We believe the men and women of the Huntersville Police Department are our most valuable asset and the essential ingredient to effectively and efficiently complete the police mission in the community we serve through our core organizational values of Honor, Professionalism and Dedication to Duty. The Department prides itself on the quality of its employees. It is the Department’s belief that providing its personnel with the opportunity to participate in planning, decision making and quality service delivery, will result in a safer community with citizens who have an enhanced perception of the quality of life. The Huntersville Police Department is dedicated to the efficient, effective and delivery of outstanding police service.

We believe in the equitable, fair and impartial application of the laws and ordinances without regard to race, color, creed, sex, or station in life, and treating all individuals with tolerance, compassion, and the dignity we would expect if found in a similar situation. We believe in the preservation of basic human rights and the maintenance of individual integrity under the rule and spirit of law, which dictates that ends do not always justify means and that punishment is not the function of the police. We are rather problem solvers.

We believe in providing quality, empathetic, responsive, and professional service to the citizens and visitors of our community with compassion and concern. Additionally, we believe the Citizens of Huntersville have endowed us with a public trust. We will honor that trust by holding ourselves to the highest standards of professional police conduct, wholly subscribing to the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics established by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. We believe in the decentralization of authority downward within the organization of the Huntersville Police Department concomitant with accountability and responsibility for actions taken or omitted. We believe that proactive team management, open communication, and employee input prior to procedure and policy formulation, when possible, are the norm in the Huntersville Police Department. Once decisions are made, we realize it is critical that everyone work together as ONE TEAM toward achieving department goals.

We believe a written General Orders Manual accompanied by a supplemental written directives manual is necessary to guide individual members of this department in the performance of their duties. However, rules cannot be written to cover all contingencies. Therefore, we believe all actions taken by department personnel must be legal, professional, reasonable, exemplary and consistent with the spirit and content of this Operational Service Philosophy Statement, the ordinances of the Town of Huntersville, the laws of the State of North Carolina and the Constitution of the United States.
We believe in anticipating and reacting quickly to the needs of the people we serve and our public safety partners through continual improvement and alignment of the organization and our services. We believe in maximizing the use of technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

We believe that crime and related disorders are social ills that we as police personnel are incapable of conquering alone. We believe that our responsibility to provide service, leadership, guidance and protection to our citizens, who in partnership with us, strive to make our city safer and a more pleasant place to live. When the community voices a concern, we will listen and respond appropriately in an effort to solve the problem. We will solicit and support communication and involvement from all members of our community and from all employees. We firmly recognize our role as public servants.

The Huntersville Police Department Quality Policing Philosophy is a goal oriented approach which focuses on results. This problem solving process is facilitated by supervision and management, but the tasks and solutions are employee driven. Each police department employee is responsible and accountable for their individual actions. Police personnel are encouraged to utilize their knowledge of the community and their profession to identify public safety problems and quality of life issues. The resolution of these problems shall be accomplished by the officers; use of their own ingenuity along with Department, Town and community resources. Department members shall work in partnership with the community to solve problems. Emphasis is placed on the identification and resolution of the underlying causes of the problems. The Huntersville Police Department believes that directing resources toward seeking solutions will provide our citizens with quality service. This service is aimed at proactively solving community problems. We also believe the implementation of the problem solving process will prevent future crime problems and provide a sense of citizen safety and confidence in the police department, while providing job enrichment for its officers.

We believe in the empowerment of our employees to form community policing partnerships to solve problems and accomplish our mission. We challenge our employees to ask themselves when addressing the delivery of police services and problem solving activities:

• Is it the right thing for the community?
• Is it the right thing for the Huntersville Police Department?
• Is it ethical and legal?
• Is it something I am willing to be accountable for?
• Is it consistent with the Department’s values and policies?

If the answer is yes to ALL of these questions, don’t ask for permission, JUST DO IT! Make Huntersville a safer community!