City of Lincoln
Police Department
Police Department
lincoln.ne.gov
The City of Lincoln Problem Resolution Team (PRT) is an ad-hoc group of representatives from key public agencies. The team was created in 1996 and exists to improve the efficiency and effectiveness when dealing with chronic, repeated, or exspecially troublesome neighborhood problems. The team coordinates the response of the city agencies and those of other organizations during the resolution process.
Captain Jon Briggs is one of the Lincoln Police Department representatives and serves as co-chair for the team. The functions of the team include:
The Problem Resolution Team also makes recommendations to city department heads or the mayor on methods to improve city practices or policies.
The collaborative process of involving numerous city departments has had positive results and eliminated problems in several of Lincoln's neighborhoods.
In March 1996, a new ordinace was passed dealing with the issue of nonoperating, wrecked, junked, or partially dismantled vehicles. The number of complaints regarding unsightly vehicles was on the rise and viewed by many as a quality of life issue.
The enforcement of the new ordinace began in the month of May. Scores of complaints were called in by citizens and then assigned to the appropriate Community Team for officers to handle. In addition, officers patrolled neighborhoods and initiated enforcement action on junked vehicles.
Captain Doug Ahlberg conducted a sampling of the 1,815 cases handled by the police department. He said the new ordinance has resulted in the issuance of 210 citations during 1996. The amount of compliance has also been encouraging: 40% of those contacted removed the vehicle from the property voluntarily, 27% of the vehicles were made operational and/or licensed, and 11% wer cited.
The Santa Cop program has a remarkable year, and success appears to already be on the horizon for 1997. Officer Tom Duden said that the generosity of Lincoln citizens and businesses has been overwhelming. The Santa Cop program, which started in 1980, has grown steadily each year. In 1996 it is estimated that 1,700 to 2,000 children received Santa Cop gifts. In addition, this year 50 children were fortunate enough to be given new bicycles and helmets thanks to a generous donor. The Lincoln Home Builders Association also built and donated 60 wheelbarrows and teddy bears.
The Licoln Police Union and Lincoln Police Department sponsor the program which is part of LPU Charities Inc. As president LPU Charities Inc., Officer Tom Duden is responsible for all the activieies associated with the program. One such activity is the Santa Cop Auction which is held annually and is the largest fund raiser for the program. Predominately Lincoln businesses donate their goods, or services for action. This year the auction outpaced all other years and raised $15,000. That money was used to purchase the majority of the gifts.
Santa Cop solicites referrals from several different sources. Those children in need are referred by citizens, officers, social service agencies, school counselors, and chaplains. The Lincoln Action Program coordinates the distribution of the gifts. In addition, there were approximately 200 home deliveries made in 1996.
Plans for next year are already underway. The auction site may be moved to accommodate the growing number of participants. Also, a donation of 100 brand new bicycles has been offered.
Since 1993 the Lincoln Police Department has been participating in a survey to gauge citizen satisfaction with the delivery of police services. The Quality Service Audit was developed in conjunction with Gallup, Inc. and it continues to be a valuable tool for both officers and administrators.
The QSA is a telephone survey which is conducted by student interns. Contact is made with citizens who had a recent police contact, whether they are a crime victim of the recipient of a traffic ticket. To expand the usefulness of the survey, several additional questions have been included this year. A sample of those questions and the responses are listed below from the 6,691 surveys administered in 1996
| Questions | Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Did the officer seem to know what he or she was doing? | 91.6% | 2.6% | |
| Did the officer listen to your side of the story or your point of view? | 85.6% | 7.2% | |
| Were you treated with dignity when the officer approached you? | 90.0% | 3.8% | |
| Do you feel you were treated fairly? | 86.4% | 7.6% | |
| Was the behavior of the officer professional in every way? | 90.1% | 3.9 | |
| Was the officer considerate of your feelings during the contact? | 84.8% | 7.5% | |
| Did the officer say he would contact you again, or do something to follow up with the case? | 46.0% | 54.0% | |
| Did he recontact you as promised? | 71.2% | 26.8% | |
| Did the officer introduce himself to you? | 86.0% | 14.0% | |
| Did the officer explain the citation and the steps you must take to comply with the law, or educate you in any way about the law? | 87.0% | 13.0% | |
| How safe and secure do you feel in the neighborhood where you live? | |||
| always unsafe and not secure | 1.9% | ||
| usually unsafe and not secure | 3.7% | ||
| safe and secure sometimes | 13.5% | ||
| safe and secure most of the time | 47.4% | ||
| always safe and secure | 26.9% | ||
| How would you rate the officer's overal performance in this situation? | |||
| oustanding | 29.5% | ||
| above average | 37.0% | ||
| average | 22.4% | ||
| below average | 2.4% | ||
| unsatisfactory | 2.0% | ||