CPD 8-28-19
In response to a request from a community group concerned with police
practices, the Cheyenne Police Department has compiled a Community Conversation Report detailing how the CPD is an agency leading Wyoming in applying the best practices of policing standards.
The report details how officers are screened and selected for employment, how officers are trained to deescalate unpredictable situations, the existing oversight of the police department by Cheyenne citizens, as well as how CPD officers are preventing crime while defending the rights
of the community. The full report is at www.cheyennepd.org/CommunityConversation.
One of the significant details outlined in the report is how the CPD has adapted the One Mind Campaign, a national movement to improve police responses to persons affected by mental illnesses. As one of CPD’s 2019 goals, the department pledged to train its officers in Mental Health First Aid classes as well as to increase the number of officers trained to respond to mental health crises. Currently, the CPD is the only law enforcement agency in Wyoming to sign this pledge.
While the national pledge calls for agencies to have 20% of their officers trained as a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), 45% of CPD officers have undergone this 40-hour training. The training extensively prepares officers to respond to mental health calls for service including mood and thought disorders, personality disorders, PTSD, suicide and mental disabilities. All
CPD officers have completed the Mental Health First Aid training and this class has been offered to the public as well.
The CPD continues to invite community discussion and is open to hearing the concerns of Cheyenne residents through the Police And Community Together group. The CPD will continue to be a leader in applying best practices of policing in Cheyenne to continue to effectively “Protect the Legend.”
