| The Wichita Police Department was honored as one of only three law enforcement departments worldwide to win the 1996 Webber Seavey Award for Quality in Law Enforcement.
The award is presented annually by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and Motorola, and is the highest department recognition internationally for innovative law enforcement programs.
The award honors the department for its South Central Prostitution Project, an initiative that helped reduce many types of crime in a declining urban neighborhood. Through intensive community policing activities, the overall crime rate in the area dropped 11 percent, drug violations dropped 41 percent and prostitution arrests decreased 47 percent.
The Department's program was selected by an international panel of law enforcement executives from 177 programs nominated worldwide. Other 1996 winners include the Los Angeles County, California Sheriff's Department and the Grand Rapids, Michigan Police Department.
"Innovative ideas, efficient use of resources and quality police work are critical factors in providing for the well being and safety of our communities, " says Tom Hayselden, president of the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, and chief of police in Shawnee, Kansas. "The Webber Seavey Award program is designed not only to reward successful ideas, but also to provide a medium for law enforcement agencies around the globe to exchange innovative solutions to law enforcement problems. The three winning agencies this year from Wichita, Grand Rapids, Michigan and Los Angeles County, California, as well as all the award entries, should be commended for successfully meeting the challenge of providing outstanding service to their communities and, in doing so, improving the quality of life for everyone they serve."
The IACP and Motorola annually present the Webber Seavey Award to recognize law enforcement programs that effectively and creatively address one or more of the following award goals:
- Continuing improvement of services to the community
- Strengthening police relations with the communities they serve and promoting community participation
- Using available resources more effectively
- Enhancing communications within, and cooperation among, law enforcement agencies
- Developing creative and innovative approaches that raise the quality and effectiveness of law enforcement
"What the Wichita and other two 1996 Webber Seavey Award winners have achieved will serve as invaluable program models for other communities and law enforcement agencies and departments around the world," says Chief David G. Walchak, IACP immediate past president, and chief of police in Concord, New Hampshire. "Their achievements also are a reminder of the many ways in which law enforcement professionals are making their communities better places in which to live every day."
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is the world's oldest and largest non-profit association for law enforcement executives.
Established in 1893, the IACP has over 14,000 members representing 82 nations. The IACP is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.
Motorola is one of the world's leading providers of wireless communications, semiconductors , advanced electronic systems and services.
Major equipment businesses include two-way radio, cellular telephone, paging and data communications, personal communications, automotive, defense and space electronics and computers. Communications devices, computers and millions of consumer products are powered by Motorola semiconductors. |