SPD mulls goals, future

SANDPOINT — Since its public debut in October, the police department’s eight-year strategic plan has undergone trimming and editing in preparation for its presentation to the Sandpoint City Council.

Police Chief Mark Lockwood and Councilman Stephen Snedden have been drafting the guiding document for the police department since September, adjusting goals as they’ve received feedback.

The first wave of scrutiny arrived on Oct. 14, when the police department held a public forum where they accepted comments and suggestions from residents.

“We were fortunate to have folks attend the open forum and give us their feedback,” Lockwood said.

One such resident was Joan Fish, who directed her doctoral studies toward strategic planning and worked with the military to draft their plans. She was able to meet later with the planners, offering suggestions on how to clarify their goals and make them attainable.

“In that time, we were able to add flesh to that initial framework and redefine our original mission statement,” Lockwood said.

The plan’s current incarnation emphasizes scaling personnel with anticipated growth, maintaining and securely parking police vehicles, using data network systems to improve efficiency, acquiring additional equipment storage, using social networking tools and high school programs to improve public outreach, revising the take-back program for seized pharmaceuticals and building a recognition wall for longtime police officers.

“We’ve been working on this for a long time,” Snedden said. “I’m really pleased with this document.”

Lockwood hopes that the eight-year plan will eventually become the standard to measure the police department’s progress over the coming years.

“We want to be able to sit down and take a look at this come Jan. 1 to see what we’ve done right and what we need to revise,” Lockwood said.