DELAWARE STATE POLICE PLANNING SECTION
The Delaware State Police Planning and Research Section performs a wide variety of tasks and functions at the direction and on behalf of the Delaware State Police Executive Staff and the Secretary of the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security. The Section is staffed by three sworn and one civilian State Police employees. Organizationally, the Director of the Planning and Research Section reports directly to the Delaware State Police Administrative Officer.
The non-sworn member of the Section is the sole management/data analyst for the Division of State Police. The analyst draws data and information from numerous sources to prepare reports of analysis that are used by the Delaware State Police Executive Staff to make informed decisions regarding staffing, budgetary requests, operational needs, and the evaluation of programs and initiatives undertaken by the Division. Furthermore, the reports generated by the analyst are used by other Delaware departments to make decisions that effect the daily lives of citizens and visitors of Delaware.
One of the primary functions of the Section is the facilitation of events and ceremonies for the Delaware State Police Executive Staff. Anually, the Section coordinates events to include the Civilian Appreciation Breakfast, the Annual Awards Ceremony, the Delaware State Police Memorial Service, the Delaware State Police Chaplains’ Memorial Service, and the Delaware State Employees’ Charitable Campaign (SECC). The Section also facilitates the Troopers’ Forum and Sergeants’ Forum. These meetings provide an opportunity for representatives from both groups to pose questions regarding DSP operations to the members of the Delaware State Police Executive Staff.
During the year, the Planning and Research Section was tasked with assisiting with the coordination of the Senior Officers’ Annual Retreat or SOAR. This retreat allowed the DSP Command Staff to meet and develop goals, objectives, and startegies that will guide and direct the future actions of the Division.
Also during the year, the Section was tasked with the facilitation of the DSPSTAT process. DSPSTAT is the process used by the Division’s Command Staff to make informed, intelligence based decisions regarding the Division’s efforts to identify crime and traffic violation patterns and trends and bring the necessary resources together to reduce the identified trends. In the summer of 2005, the process was elevated from a pilot program and taken statewide and included all patrol and criminal investigative troops.
In 2005, the Section published the 2004 Delaware State Police Annual Report. With the assistance of the Delaware State Police Purchasing and Supply Section and the Crime Lab Photography Section, the Planning and Research Section produced a publication which showcased the efforts of Divisional members to provide a safe place for Delawareans to live and visitors to visit. The Section was also instrumental in developing performance measures by which the Division would measure its successes. The Section assisted the Administrative Officer and DSP Controller with the development of measures and the compilation of statistics gathered in the furtherance of demonstrating the accomplishent of these objectives.
Finally, the Section played an integral role in the development and review of Divisional policies and programs. Throughout the year, the Section was tasked with the review of exisiting DSP policies and programs and asked to provide necessary revisions to ensure the policy or program met Divisional needs. Likewise, the Section was called upon to identify and research policies and programs with the potential of meeting an identified Divisional need. Each task required Section members to identify and review exisiting “best practices” and make recommendations to the executive Staff as to how current policies or programs should be altered to meet Divisional needs while maintaining the Division’s status as a national leader in the areas of law enforcement operations, technology, and leadership.
In 2005, the Planning and Research Section lost two experienced planners to transfers. Those troopers were replaced by two extremely talented and capable troopers who very quickly learned their respective role and began making positive contributions to the achievement of the Section’s goals. In 2005, the Planning and Research Section again played a vital role in the successes achieved by members of the Delaware State Police. The members of the Section look forward to continuing that role in 2006.
