OPELIKA, Ala. – The City of Opelika and the Opelika Police Department are excited to announce the TOGETHER, OPELIKA campaign. The new campaign is being introduced with three primary goals:
· To LOWER CRIME and INCREASE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
· To BUILD COMMUNITY TRUST in our police department in a time when people are exposed to mostly negative interactions with law enforcement on the news and social media
· To ESTABLISH GENUINE RELATIONSHIPS between the Opelika Police Department and the community
· To ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR OUR OFFICERS by humanizing the badge – we want to show the community that each officer is someone’s brother/sister, father/mother, son/daughter “TOGETHER, OPELIKA is geared to build trust and relationships between our community and our officers. It’s a culture shift for our police department. We are looking at ways to better engage with the public and improve upon the great things we are already doing. This will not be a one way street. We need for citizens to participate by inviting us into their neighborhoods, creating dialogue and sharing ideas,” said Captain Shane Healey, Community Relations/Special Services Division of the OPD. Over the next few months, the OPD will be implementing and creating new ways for the city to push out and receive imformation. Through new social media accounts, an updated website, a new app, video and additional educational and community outreach, the OPD will:
· deliver clear, consistent messages
· educate the public on the types of training our officers receive
· share the positive impact our officers are making in the community
· establish a platform for feedback and information distribution. Mayor Gary Fuller added, “Our police department is already doing great things, but we can always be better. It’s time for us to start sharing what we are doing with the public and working with citizens to determine better ways to engage with them.” For more information on the TOGETHER, OPELIKA campaign, call Captian Shane Healey at 334.705.5241