3-Year Strategic Plan Development 

The effort to develop a strategic plan for the Salem Police Department began under the leadership of Chief of Police Trevor Womack. The plan's three-year framework represents our commitment to improve the way we serve our community. The goals, objectives, and strategies captured in the strategic plan will provide focus for the department, ensuring the best use of our limited resources toward measurable progress.

The development of the plan includes an internal and external planning process, combining employee input and community feedback. The plan also incorporates recommendations from the recent Community Engagement Assessment. The completed strategic plan will solidify a new policing philosophy in Salem which improves safety and quality of life, while enhancing trust in the department.

Progress to-date

Mission, vision and values

Every strategic plan weaves in a mission to help define a purpose, a vision for what will be achieved, and the values, or principles, on which the organization's work is based. To update the department's mission, vision, and values, employee discussions and surveys were conducted. Community input was also collected through National Night Out block parties. Taking all the feedback into consideration, the following statements and principles were developed:

Mission – Provide superior service to keep Salem safe while enhancing trust.

Vision – To be a model for 21st-century policing using effective, innovative, community-informed approaches toward improved safety.

Values – Collaboration • Honor • Integrity • Compassion

Overarching goals

With the newly proposed mission, vision, and values set, the next step included the development of the strategic plan's overarching goals, or a framework for the primary objectives to accomplish.

Three main themes surfaced:

Safety

Safety is intended to include keeping the community and employees safe.

Legitimacy

Legitimacy is the public's belief that those who are charged with enforcing the law are capable, qualified, effective, and trustworthy.

Excellence

Excellence reflects the quality the department strives to achieve through its continual efforts to be professional, forward-thinking, and modern. 

Another community opportunity to provide feedback

Objectives, strategies and metrics

Each goal needs an objective and strategy to guide and realize the state intention. Metrics are also included to measure successful implementation of the strategies. Yet, community feedback is an essential component of the process.

For each of the established goals, a set of objectives was developed. In October 2021, community members were invited to review the proposed objectives and provide input through a feedback survey. 

Nearly 500 surveys were completed and responses reviewed and applied to the strategies for the plan.

The final strategic plan will be released in January 2022. Check back for the published document.