THE ROLE OF
Law Enforcement
The Martinsburg Police Department bases its policies and operations on a community policing philosophy.
POLICE, SCHOOL, COMMUNITY, EDUCATION, HEALTH
PARTNERSHIP
The police have a long tradition of defending, preserving, and strengthening the family unit.
During the days when the beat cop was the iconic symbol of policing, it was expected that they could assist parents by keeping kids from straying too far from orderly behavior. Since the police were intimately familiar with the citizens on their beat, this was neither unexpected nor out of character.
In recent years, we have seen a remarkable transformation in the laws and policies regarding family-related issues, such as domestic violence, child abuse, and animal cruelty. The Martinsburg Initiative is a dynamic contribution to the continual transformational change of policing as an essential element of positive community building.
As part of The Martinsburg Initiative, the Martinsburg Police Department will work with families, educators, and social services to ensure a positive impact.
How can law enforcement help?
The Martinsburg Police Department has integrated a trauma-informed perspective.
The Martinsburg Police Department partners with The Martinsburg Initiative to incorporate community-oriented, trauma-informed practices through regular classrooms visits that take place in all of our target schools. MPD officers join students and teachers to engage in meaningful conversations or mentoring practices in order to better equip students with the skills they need to be resilient. These classrooms visits have proven to be instrumental in fostering community goodwill and positively reshaping the way children relate to police officers by contextualizing them in a safe, familiar environment – their classroom.
The Martinsburg Police Department ensures a positive community impact through the implementation of “Handle With Care“. MPD officers have been trained to identify children at the scene of a traumatic event. Officers send the school district a confidential message that simply says “Handle this child with care”. The Martinsburg Initiative provides additional wrap-around services to families who have been identified through Handle With Care.
The police social worker addresses the psycho-social concerns that causes individuals to have encounters with law enforcement. The police social worker interacts and provides support to individuals who have mental health concerns, substance use disorders, experiencing homelessness or domestic violence, to name a few. The social worker provides interventions and connects to proper community agencies based on each individual.
