CHESTER, Pa.  - The Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced the launch of an independent and comprehensive assessment of the Chester Police Department as part of its collaborative reform initiative.

The review comes at the request of the City of Chester and Chester Police Department to provide a review and technical assistance in the areas of officer involved shootings, community policing and building trust, training and development, and data collection and crime analysis.

“I want to commend the Chester Police Department for their willingness to open their agency to intense scrutiny and take an introspective look at the department,” said COPS Office Director Ronald Davis. “The findings and recommendations that come from such an assessment will enable the department and the community to work together to hold the department accountable to the best standards of the law enforcement profession.”

Following the assessment, the COPS Office will issue a public report detailing the findings, along with specific recommendations for improvement. The COPS Office will evaluate progress made in implementing those recommendations over an 18-month period following the initial assessment. Two progress reports will be released tracking implementation of those recommendations.

The COPS Office’s Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance is an independent and objective way to transform a law enforcement agency through an analysis of policies, practices, training, tactics and accountability methods around key issues facing law enforcement today. The initiative is designed to provide technical assistance to agencies facing significant law enforcement-related issues. Using subject matter experts, interviews and direct observations, as well as conducting extensive research and analysis, the COPS Office assists law enforcement agencies in enhancing and improving their policies and procedures, operating systems and professional culture.

The COPS Office is currently providing collaborative reform assistance in Spokane, Wash.; Philadelphia; St. Louis County; Salinas, Calif.; Fayetteville, N.C., Calexico, Calif., Milwaukee; San Francisco; and North Charleston, S.C. and has completed the process in Las Vegas.

The COPS Office, headed by Director Ronald Davis, is the federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1995, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 127,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.