WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is pleased to feature the South Bend (IN) Police Department (SBPD) as its “Community Policing in Action” Photo Contest winner for October 2021.

The scene in the winning photo (courtesy of the SBPD) took place during the SBPD’s Halloween COPS and Goblins event. Officer Jim Burns, Lead Chaplain of the SBPD, noticed that a young boy was struggling to visit the treat tables at the event due to a disability. In an attempt to ease the boy’s frustration and ensure that he was able to completely participate in the event, Officer Burns carried him to each treat table and the boy was able to collect candy “just like the other kids.”

Carrying the child through the event’s crowds was no burden to Officer Burns, who says, “That’s what we’re here for—to help everybody, no matter what their age.” Community service is a big part of Officer Burns’s life. As a chaplain, he helps people in the department as well as the community when they are in need after a tragic event. It’s also a major focus of the SBPD, which hosts a wide variety of events and supports numerous programs to serve the people of South Bend.

View the winning photo on the COPS Office website, as well as on the COPS Office’s official Facebook page. SBPD’s commitment to community policing and its dedication to protecting members of the South Bend community are also chronicled in the October 2021 edition of the COPS Office e-newsletter, the Community Policing Dispatch.

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to agency for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. 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 135,000 officers.

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