City of Clearwater, Florida:

The Community and its History of Community Policing

1999 IACP Community Policing Award

On August 20, 1999, the Clearwater Police Department was notified by Director Larry Kempler, Chairman of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Community Policing Committee that the committee and corporate sponsor ITT Industries Night Vision had selected the Clearwater Police Department to receive the 1999 IACP International Community Policing Award. Clearwater's entry was one of five winners selected from almost 200 entries from communities and agencies across the United States and from six foreign countries.

The Clearwater Police Department was selected for championing positive change in the department and community through its community policing philosophy. Police Chief Sid Klein accepted the award at the annual conference of the IACP on October 29, 1999 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The winners were selected from each of five (5) categories according to population. The selection process evaluated how each candidate agency successfully:

• Adopted the community policing philosophy;
• Aggressively developed and leveraged community partnerships for identifying and solving problems;
• Implemented programs using available or community resources;
• Evaluated the initiatives; and
• Produced meaningful results that can be used as models for other departments.

In a letter to the Clearwater City Commission, Chief Klein said, "This award is a real credit to all of the employees of the Clearwater Police Department who have worked so hard in developing our vision of community policing which has been recognized as as the best for a city our size internationally."

The Clearwater Police Department has been a leader in community policing initiatives including decentralization of resources and command, neighborhood patrol teams and facilities, homeless intervention, and interactive neighborhood-based television.

This is the second year in a row that the Clearwater Police Department has won an IACP international award.  In 1998, Clearwater Police Lieutenant Steve Burch was awarded the J. Stannard Baker Award for his contributions to highway safety.

St. Petersburg Times Article 9/25/99

Additional Information on IACP Awards

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