Police Chief's Citizens Advisory Committee Coming to Riverdale Park

Community policing in Riverdale Park is about to take on a new dimension.

Police Chief David Morris has plans to move forward with a Chief’s Citizens Advisory Committee, to help the community increase its capacity to police itself.

Morris want citizens to learn as much about public safety as they can, and he wants people to know how best to protect themselves.

The police department and Morris currently participate in community policing in several ways, including public safety walks or drives with residents, truancy enforcement, and vacation checks on homes when residents are out of town. The committee would open up another line of communication between residents and the police department.

“I want to know how the police department is doing,” said Morris.

The idea is that the committee members will advocate for the community, and report to the chief what they are seeing and hearing on the streets.  The committee would also gain an understanding of how the police department operates, so they can also advocate for the department within their communities.

The committee will be modest in size, and Morris is looking for people who are already leaders in the community who would be willing to dedicate about an hour a month to this project.  

Morris saw great success with his advisory committee while serving as District 5 Commander in the Prince George’s County Police Department. That particular committee became a board, with bylaws and elected officers. They even spearheaded National Night Out, with the police department participating as partners.

The chief would like to see this kind of successful relationship develop between police and residents in Riverdale Park.

“This is not my police department,” said Morris, “This is Riverdale Park’s police department.”

Any residents interested in volunteering to be part of the committee should contact Chief Morris at dmorris@riverdaleparkmd.gov.