Changes Coming to the Wetumpka Police Department
It’s only been a few months since the Wetumpka Police Department welcomed a new chief and now a few changes are in the works.
Wetumpka Police Chief Greg Benton is ready to make big changes to his department, in an effort to better protect and serve the people of Wetumpka.
“We want to be as transparent as we can be and that’s one of the things that we’ve tried to strive for,” says Benton.
To start, he is urging people to attend town hall meetings to discuss issues in their neighborhoods and in the city. In order to handle those issues in a timely and effective way, he is hoping to better the professional development among officers.
“Investigation classes, homicide investigation classes, I just sent someone to a PIO – public information officer class,” says Benton.
Another big difference in the way the department operates is by stepping up its social media presence, primarily on Facebook.
“To be socially integrated with what’s going on in Wetumpka is very important for us as a department but also to be able to get the word out on different crimes that are being committed and getting help from public as well as – information that may helps solve those crimes,” says Benton.
Benton says being able to respond to people in a timely manner and changing the professionalism of the department are two of the most important things it can do to increase the public’s trust in the department.
“If you do not set the bar high you’re going to shortcoming the department so we want to strive to be the best that we can be,” says Benton.
Chief Benton hopes to have at least 3 town hall meetings next year and more events like “Coffee with a Cop for people to further address their concerns to officers.
