Police five-year plan focuses on mental health, Hispanic outreach

Baytown Sun 
by By Matt Hollis, matt.hollis@baytownsun.com
October 28, 2022 at 08:08PM

Baytown Police Chief John Stringer told council the Baytown Police Department’s Five-Year Strategic Plan is progressing in its efforts to listen to citizens and build trust within the community. 

The plan has two phases with additional phases to follow, Stringer said. The two phases were outlined for planning community partnerships, mental health services for citizens, mental wellness for officers, community-oriented policing, accountability and transparency.

The first phase has a strong focus on mental health, Stringer said. There is also an emphasis on forming community partnerships and outreach to the Hispanic community, Stringer added. 

The police chief said there are also plans for an outreach using social media as well as traditional media, such as the local newspaper. He said they want to increase police officers’ visibility in Baytown neighborhoods. 

Stringer said he also wants to have accountability through training on de-escalation, cultural awareness, implicit bias and establishing employee performance reviews and career development.

The plan’s second phase will begin in January. It will include internal and external accountability and transparency. For external, Stringer said they will publish department policies online and continue attending community meetings at all levels. There are also plans to leverage social media platforms to “advise and update for department-related incidents and activities.” One example is to provide monthly updates from command staff on YouTube channels. 

For internal, Stringer said they will use performance management software. By establishing formal mechanisms, the police department will also give employees a greater voice and ownership in the department’s future and development, according to Stringer.

Phase 2 also includes ideas for community partnerships, Stringer said. One way is to form a high school outreach program partnership with the Goose Creek CISD police department. To help improve cultural awareness, Stringer said they are developing a partnership with Lee College to help improve cultural awareness. They will conduct an internal climate survey and hold cultural awareness supplemental training specific to the demographics of Baytown. In addition, Stringer said they will try to obtain a Mental Health Citizen Advocate and explore grant opportunities through the Bay Area Council on Drugs and Alcohol. 

Some of the ongoing Community Oriented Policing Initiatives Stringer talked about include:

• Citizen Police Academy

• Coffee with a Cop

• National Night Out

• Regular attendance at civic associations, homeowners associations, and business group meetings

• The D.A.R.E. program 

• Bay Area Ministerial Alliance

Another area of the plan entails employee evaluation and career development. The plan includes having accountabilities for all sworn personnel, formulating a new mechanism to provide documented feedback on performance, and forming a collaborative effort to set goals, improve performance and develop career paths.

Stringer also discussed the Unidos Program, which is the department’s Hispanic outreach program. Officers will develop meaningful relationships with the Hispanic community, and there will be a team of bilingual officers led by a lieutenant.

The idea behind the Unidos Program is to earn the trust of the Hispanic community, facilitate two-way communication between the Baytown police and Hispanics, and focus on improving the basic quality of life for Spanish-speaking residents. They will also provide a resource for Hispanic residents whether or not the topic is police related, according to Stringer. 

Stringer also highlighted the department’s focus on mental health. 

“Two components were recognized in this area,” Stringer said. 

One was the response to people in mental crises and the officer’s mental wellness and resiliency. There is a Crisis Intervention Team that trains personnel.  There are 12 mental health officers assigned to all patrol shifts, Stringer said. 

Stringer said the Clinician and Officer Remote Evaluation, or CORE, Program is a collaboration between Baytown police, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and The Harris Center. They connect people in mental health crises to a licensed master-level clinician through a computer tablet. Twenty of these tablets have been dispersed across all patrol shifts with 12 to 15 deployments on average each month, Stringer said. 

Stringer said through the Bay Area Mental Health Coalition, they will bring law enforcement, mental health service providers, and other community partners together and identify resource gaps and partners who can “assist in meeting the needs of mental health consumers in our community.” Stringer said there are currently 19 organizations participating in the coalition. 

For officer mental wellness, Stringer said the Baytown Police Department had implemented a Peer Support Program along with Mental Health First Aid Classes. There is also a physical wellness aspect that provides physical fitness for law enforcement specialists. Personnel will also benefit from physical fitness and nutrition guidance.  

Stringer said there are positive results from the five-year plan. This includes greater internal accountability and a mission focus. There are also more regular compliments for the police department on social media, in emails and through phone calls, he said.