"Remember the 3 R's: Respect for self; Respect for others;
and Responsibility for your actions!"
–Anonymous

MISSION STATEMENT

"Serving today to make a safer tomorrow"

PLAN:

Plan Preparation

The City of Winchester has until May 11th, 2004, for many years operated under a concept of a consolidated (police and fire) Public Safety Department. A study conducted by, MTAS, Municipal Technical Advisory Service, a branch of the University of Tennessee, recommended going back to two separated departments, a Police Department and a Fire Department.

At present the Public Safety Department is charged with police and fire operations as well as T.O.S.H.A. training for all City Departments and identifying public safety hazards.

The City of Winchester Police and Fire Department's has an urban service area consisting of a population of 7,329 (2000 census numbers) citizens. During business hours the population expands to approximately 18,000 citizens. The Fire Department offers countywide vehicle extrication (Jaws of Life), servicing 39,270 citizens.

The current full-time staffing level of the Winchester Police Department is 2.8 officers per thousand population (national average is 2.7) and the Winchester Fire Department is 1.4 firefighters per thousand population. It should be noted that staffing levels are relative to citizen's expectations. The present staffing level is consistent to providing emergency response, but proactive policing and fire prevention requires a higher staffing ratio (* MTAS study conducted 2004).

Technological equipment is readily available to enhance public safety for the City of Winchester, but at a cost. The Director of Public Safety has made advances in updating equipment in the department through assistance from the City budget process and searching out and obtaining grants from the State and Federal sources.

The geographical layout of the incorporated city limits of Winchester brings up several areas of concerns. Response time for emergency equipment and manpower and secondly, all areas of Winchester have to be accessed across waterways (bridges). Any bridge taken out will cause an extensive delay in response. Another area of concern is the physical location of the Franklin County High School and its close proximity to the Industrial Park and possibility of a Hazardous Material Response causing evacuation with a lack of adequate escape routes. The road infrastructure (after new construction) is barely adequate for the amount of traffic that it will incur during such a scenario. Furthermore, recent traffic studies show the worst two intersections in Winchester for traffic accidents presently, is each end of the by-pass. Taylor Drive in Winchester is not accessible for Fire Apparatus, with three residential residents living on this street, this is not acceptable.
There are 456 fire hydrants in the City of Winchester. There are a few areas lacking in adequate water flow to support fire suppression capabilities. The Winchester Utilities Company is presently upgrading the water system to address some of the shortfalls in flowing capacity.

There has been a steady increase in calls for service over the years. In 2003, the Winchester Police Department responded to 13,763 calls and the Fire Department responded to 713 calls. The police department has increased its crime solvency rate by 20% since 2001 to a present rate of 50.7%, far above all surrounding agencies. They have reduced crack cocaine tremendously through proactive law enforcement techniques. The Police Department has increased its directed patrol to high crime areas and forced criminals out of the City. Presently, they have refocused their attention to the detection of Methamphetamine Clandestine Laboratories through stricter enforcement and proactive education opportunities presented to them from civic groups, churches, and Town Meetings. The City of Winchester Police Department has joined hands with the U.S. Attorney Office in a battle to reduce violent crime in the community through a Project Safe Neighborhood Program. The Traffic Division has created a partnership with the Governor's Highway Safety Office and became a leader statewide in its efforts to enforce D.U.I. laws and seat belt laws (Click or Ticket It). The Winchester Police Department (liaison for the Governors Highway Safety Office) has developed a model Child Safety Seat Campaign and has been recognized by the Tennessee Life Savers Conference. The Winchester Police Department has been ranked among the Top Ten agencies in the State of Tennessee for the last three years.

In 2002, the Winchester Police Department sent seven officers through S.W.A.T. training and developed a Special Operations Unit for the City of Winchester to respond to high risk police calls and execution of warrants on heavily armed and/or dangerous criminals. The unit is equipped with surplus and outdated equipment from the military and needs new personal protective equipment and assault weapons. The officers on this team have privately invested in their own personal equipment, but if they left employment the equipment goes with them.

The Fire Department has a very low fire loss in comparison to surrounding agencies and the best ISO rating which is presently a Class 4. The Fire Department has recently upgraded its fire apparatus with the purchase of aerial "quint" fire engine, however, the frontline Fire Engine "5" is 14 years old and its backup engines are outdated at best and need to be replaced. The Fire Department responded to 130 accidents last year involving the use of the Jaws of Life and has saved countless lives. The Winchester Fire Department Extrication Service responds to approximately 80% of Franklin County.

In January 2003, the communications department (dispatch) was consolidated with Franklin County in a Consolidated Communications Center. The Winchester Police and Fire Department have created a partnership with all surrounding agencies as well as State and Federal agencies to enhance public safety capabilities for its citizens. Winchester has been essential to neighboring agencies for advance training in specialized fields of public safety, again, fostering better working relations.

It is essential in Crime Prevention and Fire Loss Prevention to educate your citizenry. The Police and Fire Departments conducts several educational classes each year to include; CPR, D.A.R.E., Fire Prevention, Fire Safety, Town Meetings, Citizen Police Academy, Child Safety Seat Clinics, Kids Day Out with Public Safety, and Methamphetamine/Drug classes to raise public awareness.

Since 9/11, Homeland Security has become a priority. The Winchester Police Department has assisted the surrounding agencies in development and implementation of emergency response plan to natural and/or man made disasters in partnership with TEMA and Red Cross. The Winchester Police Department is presently working on a response plan for a Forensic Crime Scene Response Team and development of an Intelligence Team to combat Terrorism for District VI (Rutherford, Marshall, Coffee, Bedford, Moore, Lincoln, and Franklin Counties) of Homeland Security for the State of Tennessee.

As mentioned, tributaries of Tims Ford Lake dissect the City of Winchester. The Winchester Police and Fire Departments are dependent upon TWRA for lake patrol and the Franklin County Rescue Squad for rescue operations. This is one area of service that would be beneficial to enhance for the citizens of Winchester through future planning.

The City of Winchester has an outstanding park system and is planning an expansion of the park system for the Dry Creek Area. There has been an increasing amount of vandalism in the parks. With the planned expansion and the likelihood of increased crime in the park area, it is imperative to receive funding for a park patrol to work in the park system as well as the lake area in Winchester.

The Police Department is currently split between city hall and an adjourning annex building. The patrol officers are headquartered in the city hall building in the basement without access for disabled citizens, and the space is cramped and antiquated. The administrative offices of the department are located in the annex building with the Fire Department.

Plan Development

The Police Department needs to continue their proactive community responsive techniques through public education awareness.

Develop partnership with public school system and target middle and high school students in Drug Abuse Resistance Education.

Crime analysis suggests that with a reduction in drug use brings with it a reduction in overall crime in the community. The Winchester Police Department is doing an outstanding job in this area and needs to stay the course.

Traffic enforcement, most especially, speeding, seat belt, child safety seat, and D.U.I. campaigns has shown a reduction of traffic accidents and fatalities. A software monitoring system needs to be explored to implore a better monitoring system. This monitoring system will assist management in directed patrol techniques to high-risk areas.

At the time of this plan development, the quantity and quality of training of police personnel far exceeds most departments of this size. Most of the training appears to be operational in nature, and patrol officers are well prepared for a variety of situations. The department should raise the professional standard for all public safety personnel through advance specialized training requirements and monitor salaries to be competitive in the market and attract the best applicants for the citizens of Winchester.

The Police Department needs a new facility to house all of the staff under one roof and enhance public perception of the department. The facility needs to be located to best serve the citizens of Winchester, possibly in or around its park system.

The Fire Department needs to expand its services to encompass confine space rescue, first responder with EMS, and Haz Mat capabilities.

The Fire Department needs to get into rural fire service, which will bring in approximately $30,000 per year in additional revenue and apply this added funding to the purchase of new fire apparatus.

A satellite Fire Station constructed and strategically located to improve response time and rescue operations.

Management of the Fire Department needs to closely monitor its class 4 ISO rating and work toward a Class 3 ISO rating. A class 3 ISO rating will reduce personal property insurance by approximately 8%, but with an even greater savings for industry. This will be an industry recruiting advantage for economic development for the City of Winchester.

Implementation of Plan (how do we get there)

Invest and provide personal protective equipment for the police department personnel, especially its Special Operations Unit.

Work on GIS equipment installation for emergency equipment in conjunction with Consolidated Communications.

Invest in a monitoring software system to track D.U.I. and traffic accidents in the City of Winchester.

Continually monitor and update, as needed the records management system for the police and fire departments.

Continually monitor its established emergency response plan to fit the high-risk needs, such as a natural disaster, weapons of mass destruction, biological, nuclear attacks, etc.
Maintain and develop partnerships with other agencies for response capabilities to major events.

The City should regularly contract for a market based compensation study and be prepared to finance and implement the plan to remain competitive in attracting new personnel.

Build or find a location (park area) for the police department to be consolidated in one facility, strategically located, to possibly house a satellite fire station in the future and enhance security of the park system.

Develop lake patrol/rescue capabilities for Tims Ford Lake in the Winchester area and partner with TWRA to increase recreational public safety and reduce vandalism to city properties.

Develop future capital outlay replacement schedule for public safety needs and fund this request annually to maintain adequate equipment for emergency response.

Implement a training curriculum targeting public education especially middle and high school.

Implement a mandatory training curriculum utilizing the latest in technology for the police and fire departments to enhance response capabilities.

Continue public awareness programs and develop partnerships with civic organizations and neighborhood groups improving community involvement and relationships.

Participate in rural fire service for the county and earmark funds to replace fire apparatus.

Develop a Hazardous Material Unit in the Fire Department and implement mandatory training in confine space extrication for Homeland Security and community needs.

Develop and implement a first responder program in the Fire Department to work in conjunction with the local ambulance service for the residents of Winchester.

Create Junior Fire and Police programs to enhance volunteer needs in the future.

Monitor road infrastructure and make recommendations for improvement allowing adequate response and evacuation capabilities.

Monitor ISO requirements for fire department and work toward lowering ISO rating to a Class 3.