The Norman Police Department has completed an organizational restructure following months of planning and evaluation. Utilizing community feedback, the updated organizational structure adds a Community and Staff Services Bureau centered on community outreach and the implementation of a holistic approach to derive solutions for the community’s most pressing concerns regarding public safety.
“The series of difficulties and challenges experienced by our community and agency during the last 18 months has provided us the opportunity to evaluate not only the services we provide our community each day, but how we provide them,” said Major Brent Barbour who leads the new Community and Staff Services Bureau.
The restructure will include the development of a new Community and Staff Services Bureau. One of the bureau’s divisions will focus on department training, recruiting, records management, crime analysis, and many other critical staff functions that support daily operations. The second division will comprise of our School Resource Officers, Traffic Unit, Parking Services Unit, and the Community Outreach Division.
“This new structure will enable the department to better allocate its limited resources and teams in a way that will improve efficacy with regard to identifying service roles and creating additional services to the Norman community,” said Major Barbour.
The new Community Outreach Division of the bureau will collaborate with Norman residents, visitors, businesses and community groups. These partnerships will be critical as we continue to build inclusive community relationships through specific engagement as well as educational programs and activities. In addition, the new division will provide the necessary resources to proactively address our community’s most imminent areas of concern. Officers will work in partnership alongside the community to develop short and long term solutions. The teams’ processes will focus on identifying and resolving root causes of criminal activity and community harms to reduce crime and improve overall quality of life for all of Norman.
The organizational changes will be implemented over the coming weeks and months as staffing allows. NPD looks forward to the opportunity for growth while continuing to provide the highest quality of police services to our community.