One of the Baltimore County police department's three bureaus will be eliminated in a reorganization that Chief Jim Johnson says will increase efficiency and put more focus on officers' relationships with community members.
Parts of the Community Resources Bureau will now be under the Operations Bureau. Police officials said that keeping the community bureau separate gave some officers the idea that it was only that bureau's responsibility to build relationships and work with young people.
"Especially in today's environment, this mindset must change in public safety," Johnson said in a statement, adding that developing relationships with citizens "is every officer's business."
The former head of the Community Resources Bureau, Col. Kim Ward, recently retired, said police spokesman Cpl. John Wachter.
As part of the changes, the Safe Schools Section, which oversees the School Resource Officer program and acts as liaison to the county schools, will report to the Operations Bureau's Patrol Division.
A new Youth & Community Resources Section will also become part of the Operations Bureau, reporting to the commander.
In addition, 10 officers with the Juvenile Offenders in Need of Supervision program, who were working out of headquarters in Towson, will be assigned to the precincts, so that they will be closer to the children in the program and their families.
The Auxiliary Police Program, in which volunteers assist sworn members with some duties, will report to the Operations Bureau's Support Operations Division.
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