05/29/2020
I can truly say that I have nothing but praise for Lexington Police Department. They are fair, approachable, and care about our children enough to turn mistakes into teachable moments! ♥
A MESSAGE FROM CHIEF TERRENCE GREEN
The death of George Floyd earlier this week has brought the words of Martin Luther King Jr. to mind that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". I, like so many of you, have felt grief, anger and can see how the actions of a few can overshadow the work our officers do each day throughout the Town of Lexington, SC community.
Our officers take an oath to enforce the law but to do so while never employing unnecessary force or violence. What we have seen in the videos involving George Floyd was not that and I have faith that justice will be served.
Over the last several days I've had many ask about our officers, the training they receive and what our expectations are in handling situations where force is used. I want to take a moment to talk about what I feel is most important in the public trust that is placed on each of our officers.
TRAINING
We put a tremendous focus on training and in my mind, it's the foundation of a law enforcement professional. While the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy mandate is 40 hours of training every three years to maintain certification, on average our officers attend over 100 hours of training each year.
As an example, in 2019 our officers attended over 6,500 hours of training which included annual re-certifications and advanced training in include verbal deescalation cultural diversity, response to resistance, mental health, ethics, among others both hands on and in the classroom.
We work to equip our officers with the knowledge base through training, and annual re-training, to perform their jobs to the highest levels of expectations.
ACCOUNTABILITY
As an internationally accredited police department through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), we are constantly making sure that our policies and procedures are up to date and reflect best practices within law enforcement.
We have a number of ways to review the actions of our officers, which start with both in-car and body worn cameras but also include early warning systems to identify and correct issues seen as well as officers working in small teams within every division with multiple levels of supervision.
Verbal deescalation techniques are used whenever possible and the response to resistance or the use of force to effect an arrest are always evaluated to ensure that the actions of officers are within policy, procedure and were necessary.
We are accountable to our community and proper follow up is done within our Office of Professional Standards anytime a complaint or issue is brought forward.
PARTNERSHIPS
I learned a long time ago that our work as a department benefits greatly by investing time and effort into meaningful networking with an ever growing connection with our community partners.
These partnerships have brought greater value to the many programs, events and forums that we do or participate in and provide resources of all sorts for those in the Town of Lexington community.
We've also found that these collaborations create common ground and break down the many misconceptions about law enforcement.
We can do a lot more by working together which benefits everyone.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
As Chief, I want to make sure that the Lexington Police Department is ready for the challenges of today while also preparing for the future as the Town of Lexington continues to grow.
In the fall of 2014, myself along with division commanders, supervisors and officers from each division participated in a two-day retreat where we worked together in creating a strategic plan which has become the blueprint for our officers to follow with actionable work to be done.
These goals which are focused on reducing crime, improving response times, improving community relations and traffic safety are a work in progress. We meet twice each year to evaluate, reassess and ensure that officers in each division are working together to reach these common goals.
We are six years into this strategic planning process and I can say without a doubt that we're a more professional department because this plan.
Our mission statement is "To Provide Exceptional Police Service While Building a Partnership with the Community We Serve" and if you ever have questions or concerns, please give me a call at 803-359-6260 or email [email protected].
Chief Terrence Green
