Team Policing

< Back to Patrol Services Bureau

The Oshkosh Police Department has embraced the philosophy and implementation of "Team Policing." Team policing is a modification of Community Oriented Policing where relationships are built within the community they serve. The main difference here is that every officer on the Oshkosh Police Department belongs to a team, and the teams are responsible for various areas of the city. There are seven teams and they are comprised of officers from all three patrol shifts and the Detective Bureau.

The main component of team policing is for the officers to work together with the community to establish partnerships. Communication is a key factor, and it is important for the officers to share information with each other as well as to share information with citizens. It is so much easier to work on problems and find a solution when all the parties involved know each other. The teams focus on problem-solving and assisting neighborhoods with improving quality of life issues. Policing has generally been reactive; Team Policing is proactive in addressing problem and other nuisance type situations. Several of the teams have distributed crime prevention information and safety tips to the businesses in their areas and have held Neighborhood Watch meetings. Others have participated in Safety Fairs, community education and have been seen "walking the beat."

Some of the benefits of Team Policing come from the officers truly getting to know their team area better and feeling a sense of ownership for what goes on there. They are more aware of "the little things" as well as the bigger problems. The officers have developed a sense of pride for positive interaction and activity in their area. The citizens also know they can go to one of their team officers, and no matter what the issue, they have someone who will listen and help work out a solution.

The team approach allows officers to continue the day-to-day patrol functions such as responding to calls for service. The major change is what the officers do when they have "down time" and are not assigned to a specific call or duty. Our main function is still to prevent and solve crimes, and Team Policing promotes this with the cooperative efforts of both the police and the community. Citizens are encouraged to contact the Oshkosh Police Department at (920) 236-5700 to report non-emergency situations and file police reports.

Note - please be sure to allow @lists.ci.oshkosh.wi.us through your spam filter.

To receive automatic email updates on incidents occurring in your neighborhood, click on the My Neighborhood Update sign.

Team Policing and how to contact your officers:

As part of the Team Policing initiative, the Department developed an interactive map, which is broken down into the seven Patrol Districts of the city. The map was designed to provide citizens with a way to contact a specific team or officer in their district . Locate the team number assigned to your district on the city map, click on the district you are interested in, and a list of officers will appear. There are three main ways to contact a specific team:

• Each team officer has an assigned cell phone and contact can be made directly with any of the team officers listed. The team officer will return your call within a reasonable amount of time.
  
  
• You can also contact the teams or an individual officer by e-mail. You can either select a specific officer's name or the team e-mail link to send an e-mail to one or all of the officers.
  
  
• Another option is to call the Police Department at (920) 236-5700 and ask to talk to a team officer in your district. After giving the receptionist your address, they will be able to give you more information on your team.

< Back to Patrol Services Bureau