What Does the “Community” in Community Policing Actually Mean?
Written by Tim Buckley, August 2024
Keizer Police Chief Andrew Copeland with NFC Members Jacque Green, Tammy Kunz, and Stephanie Jenkins at Kennedy's 2024 Fun Friday
By the time Andrew Copeland took office as Keizer’s Chief of Police, in 2023, he had been with the department for 21 years. For 10 of those years, he mentored under Keizer’s much admired former chief, John Teague.
“As I was preparing to assume his position as Chief, I asked John which community efforts he thought I should continue to prioritize, as he had. ‘What are the programs you’re involved in that are the most useful?’ I asked him. After a short pause, he said, ‘CBEL! You must continue to participate and partner with CBEL.’”
Two things have become apparent to Chief Copeland since he followed his mentor’s advice and got involved with CBEL. “First, the Neighborhood Family Council events are a perfect place to establish relationships with the people you serve.” (In addition to serving Keizer as its police chief, he also served hamburgers to hundreds of neighbors at the recent Fun Friday event at St. Edward Church, from the high-quality grille he brought to the event.)
Keizer Police Chief Andrew Copeland flips burgers on his own grill brought to the 2024 Kennedy Fun Friday
“When me and my officers spend time like this, we build a foundation of trust and mutual respect,” Copeland continued. “That leads directly to the other important thing: organized neighborhoods become a crucial part of reducing violence and preventing crime.” He added that the Neighborhood Family Councils seem to have a more effective strategy for reaching deeply into the culture of each of its neighborhoods. “If there is crime in these areas, the chances are good that the neighbors know families who are impacted directly, and, in many cases, know some of the people involved.” It is that personal link that makes a huge difference in turning lives around, offering useful, needed new resources, and attracting thousands of neighbors in fun and prosocial family activities.
Copeland graduated from McNary High School in 1995, where he met his future wife, Kara. They both attended Western Oregon University, and both were collegiate athletes: Andrew in football and Kara in Volleyball. “By the time I graduated with a BA in Communications, we were married,” he said. “I thought perhaps I would seek work in marketing, sales, or real estate, where my dad’s career was focused.”
He was attracted to police work after trying a few other jobs, none of which seemed to hold his attention, including car sales. “I was terrible at it,” he said in a Keizer Times interview a year ago. “I was completely honest with everybody,” he said. “(But) it did teach me it’s important to be honest, no matter what happens.”
A chance “ride along” with his childhood Salem friend, Gary Klopfenstein, showed him a side of policing that appealed to him. “Gary was employed at the time, the early 2000s, as a Patrol Officer with the Roseburg Police,” Copeland explained. (He is now Roseburg PD’s Chief). “I talked it over with Kara, who was initially reluctant to have me involved in a career with long hours, tough duty and higher risk. But when she saw how fired-up I was, she basically said, ‘Do it!’”
Copeland was one of 100 applicants for two jobs with the Keizer PD in 2001. He was hired in early 2002 and, in his Keizer Times interview, he said this about the job. “I fell in love with it. The ability to help people on an everyday basis was unreal. Then you mix in the enforcement side. I really enjoyed holding people accountable for the evil doings of the world.”
The Copelands now have four children, three boys and a girl. The two oldest are boys, both students at Western Oregon. Both play football; one is about to graduate with a degree in business, and the other is pursuing a degree in emergency medicine and firefighting. Kara and Andrew’s other children are in high school; their only daughter, a student at Salem Academy and the youngest is in 7th grade.
Because his belief in community-building is so strong, Copeland reconstituted the old BLAST Camp that had lapsed due to funding shortfalls. BLAST (Bring Law Enforcement and Students Together) is an annual, free, summer camp that focuses on breaking barriers with youth in a fun, active week of play and connection. “We show up without uniforms and with a desire to meet kids where they are, to show our humanity, to extend empathy and understanding, to provide mentorship, and build a multi-generational bridge to those who may not see the police as a resource,” he said.
(BLAST Camp 2024 - photo courtesy of the Keizer Times)
Despite staff shortages, the BLAST Camp continues to be a priority. “There are instances where you can see a life transformed by the experience,” Copeland said. “Someone will show up withdrawn, not interested in participating in anything. By the end of the week, the person is looking you in the eye, smiling, exchanging high-fives and asking if they could come back next year and volunteer to work with us.”
There are two main reasons that community engagement makes sense to Copeland. Both are practical reasons: first, if you build trusted relationships with neighbors, the partnership results in a reduction in stress and anxiety, and ultimately reduces crime. Secondly, neighbors as allies provides law enforcement additional “eyes and ears” for a department whose personnel are stretched thin with heavy workloads.
Chief Copeland said that, like the CBEL model of leadership, he is improving department efficiency by encouraging decision-making at all levels, including the patrol officer level. “When it comes to implementing and reporting on things they’re seeing first hand, it makes sense to entrust those with the most knowledge about it,” he said. “While that style of leadership can improve efficiency, it also helps us improve our communication within the department and with the community,” he said.
And, because the Keizer Police Department also trains staff in the Outward Mindset skills, the culture of policing there aims to strike a balance, with equal measures of compassion for those they serve and accountability for those out of bounds.