As the world copes with this unfortunate pandemic, it is important to remember those who are on the forefront during emergencies. At the May 4 Regular City Council meeting, Mayor Yolanda Ford proclaimed the week of May 10 through May 16 “National Police Week” in Missouri City in honor of MCPD’s hard work, dedication and commitment to public safety.
Given the current COVID-19 crisis, most public events in recognition of first responders around the nation were cancelled or modified to virtual meetings. Even though the traditional memorial is not possible, MCPD will be virtually joining a candlelight vigil and reading of names of all 2019 fallen officers tomorrow, Wednesday, May 13. Also, the nation will observe May 15 as “Peace Officers Memorial Day” and per federal law, all flags will be flown at half-staff to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
“We have 105 authorized strength and we have been full now for several months with all sworn positions full,” said Police Chief Mike Berezin while virtually accepting the 2020 proclamation during the Monday, May 4 Regular Meeting. “This is a testament to Council. And, with the support of Staff and the community, we had zero sworn turnover for the past ten months and morale in the department is very high and has been for quite some time.”
The commitment and excellence of Missouri City’s finest were mirrored throughout the 2020 Citizens Community Survey results.
According to the findings concluded by ETC Institute, “the highest levels of satisfaction with police services, based upon the combined percentage of ‘very satisfied’ and ‘satisfied’ responses among residents who had an opinion, were: the overall quality of City police protection was 86 percent and how quickly police respond to emergencies was 79 percent.”
In addition, most of the services that were rated for MCPD reflected results higher than national averages, including:
- The overall quality of City police protection (18% higher);
- How quickly police respond to emergencies (17% higher);
- Enforcement of City traffic laws (5% higher);
- Visibility of police in neighborhoods (14% higher);
- Visibility of police in commercial & retail areas (3% higher);
- Police safety awareness education programs (8% higher); and
- Efforts by City government to prevent crime (4% higher).
To view additional details and review full survey results, click this link: https://bit.ly/2Wq6RHt.
Community partnerships, prevention programs and innovative strategies like the Data-Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Safety program (DDACTS) have helped reduce crime to record lows citywide in recent years, gain the community satisfaction reflected in the recent survey results and achieve key accolades mentioned below:
The “Show Me City” was once again commended for its safe streets, earning the No. 34 rank in a list of 154 Texas cities rated by Alarms.org, the official site of the National Council for Home Safety and Security—an association of licensed alarm companies, installers, contractors and trade groups. Alarms.org completed its 2020 “Safest Cities in Texas” rankings by reviewing data from the FBI’s latest “Uniform Crime Report” statistics. In 2019, MCTX was rated No. 30 in a list of 136 Texas cities rated by Alarms.org. To view the full 2020 report, click on this link: http://bit.ly/2TiDkvu.
- MCPD was once again instrumental in the City being ranked among the top 50 safest cities in Texas by SafeWise, a security system resource website. MCTX was listed at No. 49 in the organization’s sixth annual report that was compiled utilizing data from FBI crime statistics and U.S. Census population data. To view the full summary, click on this link: https://bit.ly/3e1ZdKf.
- The Department’s successes were recognized earlier this year at the Monday, Feb. 17 Regular City Council Meeting when Mayor Ford, City Councilmembers, Chief Berezin and Staff saluted Officers Leonard Scott and Valery Elias for being selected as Officers of the Month in January for performing life-saving CPR on a vehicle crash victim. View the commendations here: https://bit.ly/2UnDx25.
- MCPD recognized the following team members as Officers of the Month in March: Sgt. Michael Hebert, Officer Blake Howard and Officer Lex V. Paxton.
- Chief Berezin also recently saluted another of one Missouri City’s finest—Capt. Dwayne Williams who graduated last month from the 279th session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va. Williams’ class was 10-weeks long and consisted of 255 law-enforcement officers from 49 states, the District of Columbia, 32 countries, five military organizations and eight federal civilian organizations. Participants in the international Academy must have proven records as professionals within their agencies to attend.
“As we move through these troubling times, our first responders continue to maintain the positivity in the community. The drive-around birthday wishes conducted by the public safety teams during the stay home orders were reflective of this community collaboration,” said Interim City Manager Bill Atkinson. “We honor the commitment and sacrifices of our finest during this National Police Week and are proud of them for keeping our City safe each and every day.”
The City’s Police Department manages crime prevention and safety programs, maintains an open data initiative, oversees Code Enforcement and is dedicated to building community partnerships. To learn more about the Department’s award-winning operations, click on its City website: www.missouricitypolice.org.
For more information about Missouri City, please watch the City website: www.missouricitytx.gov, like us on Facebook—fb/MissouriCityTX, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat—@MissouriCityTX and Nextdoor, watch Missouri City Television (Ch. 16 on Comcast and Ch. 99 on AT&T U-verse) or download the MCTX Mobile app (available for free in Google Play and the Apple app store.)