To help modernize the public safety infrastructure in a city or county, local leaders are launching Community Safety Departments—what local leaders call “the third branch of public safety,” co-equal with the police department and fire department, and which house a city’s unarmed crisis responder teams.
Three years ago, Albuquerque—under Mayor Tim Keller’s leadership—launched the country’s first community safety department. Last year, the department opened its own headquarters. And just last month, the city’s Community Safety Department announced it had reached a historic milestone—having “responded to over 100,000 calls.” Now, Albuquerque’s Community Safety Department has become a national model for other cities and counties launching these departments.
To gauge public support for Community Safety Departments as part of a city’s public safety infrastructure, Safer Cities recently conducted a national survey of 2,503 registered voters.
First, we explained that “some cities have created community safety departments that, like police departments, are umbrella agencies that divide first responders into divisions based on their responsibilities and their expertise.” We explained that “in the same way that police departments are organized into units such as the traffic unit or robbery-homicide unit, community safety departments also have separate units.” We then defined what some of those units are:
- Some “include mobile crisis response units that dispatch behavioral health experts to 911 calls involving mental health and substance use related issues.”
- Some “might handle matters such as picking up dirty and discarded needles from parks and sidewalks…”
- Others “might address minor traffic violations and parking disputes.”
We then asked if their city was “creating a community safety department that would function as a separate and coequal city department alongside the police and fire departments,” would they “support or oppose” that effort? Here are the results:
- 82% Of Americans Say They Support Their City Creating A Community Safety Department That Functions As A “Separate And Coequal Department Alongside Police And Fire Departments.”
- These results also reflect broad bipartisan support, including 90% of Democrats and 78% of Republicans who support their cities creating a community safety department.
We then asked respondents if they “agree or disagree” that “community safety departments allow police departments to focus on solving serious crimes.” Here’s what we found:
- 83% Of Americans Say That Community Safety Departments “Allow Police Departments To Focus On Solving Serious Crimes.”
