WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is pleased to feature the Winston-Salem Police Department as its December “Community Policing in Action” photo contest winner. The photo, which is the final “Community Policing in Action” photo to be featured in 2017, features a Winston-Salem Police Department officer escorting a senior resident to her home after a trip to the grocery store.

Winston-Salem Police Chief Catrina Thompson shared that this photo represents the department’s commitment to community policing while also illustrating the importance of building and maintaining community-police relations. To learn more about the photo and to read an interview featuring Chief Thompson and the officer pictured, visit the COPS Office e-newsletter, the Community Policing Dispatch. The winning photo is available to view on the COPS Office website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.

The COPS Office piloted the photo contest in 2015 to highlight positive community policing efforts across the country. After receiving an overwhelming number of submissions, the COPS Office made the photo contest an annual event. The 2017 contest garnered close to 200 photos during the one-month submission period. The 2018 contest winners will be announced in the upcoming weeks. To learn more about the “Community Policing in Action” Photo Contest, visit http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/photocontest.

The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1994, 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 approximately 130,000 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.