thecityofprichard.org (MAIN)

Police Department

Police Department

Walter Knight

Police Chief

IN THE MATTER OF:
CONDEMNATION OR FORFEITURE OF SEIZED
AND/OR ABANDONED PROPERTY

Comes now the City of Prichard Police Department, by and through the Chief of Police for the City of Prichard, Alabama and respectfully moves to condemn and seize abandoned personal property that is in relation to the death and homicide of Joe Johnson which occurred on 10/10/2021, which is now in the possession of the City of Prichard Police Department.

Said personal property was seized by the City of Prichard Police Department during investigations of criminal activity within the City of Prichard jurisdiction and after the investigation was completed, a diligent search is being made by the department to return said personal property, undisclosed amount of currency to any relative to the rightful and legal owner of said personal property, i.e.: Joe Johnson.

Therefore, if any failure to claim aforementioned property I would suggest that it is reasonable to believe that this property has been abandoned by any and all relatives and will be set up for seizure and awarded to the City of Prichard Police Department.

Mission

The mission of the Prichard Police Department is to fight crime and the fear of crime by working with our community partners and other stakeholders to enforce the laws, apprehension, prosecution, and conviction of offenders, prevent crime from occurring, while improving the quality of life for all Prichard citizens.

Accountability

Accountability fingerprints the work of every member of the Prichard Police Department and all civilian employees.  Members are answerable simultaneously to themselves, to their coworkers, and to the community they serve.  

Every day each of us must be able to answer the simple question, “What have I done today to fight crime and improve the quality of life for Prichard citizens?”  Our answers will necessarily be different depending on our rules and responsibilities within the organization, but everyone, every day, is responsible for advancing the mission of this police department.

Working together, holding ourselves and one another accountable for fighting and preventing crime; we will improve the qulity of life for Pricahrd citizens and make this city much safer.

Core Values

Our core values form the design for all Prichard Police Department employees.  The core values on which we stand, that are emblazoned on the uniform of every officer of the Prichard Police Department is: Honor.  It is a privilege to serve as a member of the law enforcement community and especially as a member of the Prichard Police Department.  We treat our badge with honor, respect, and pride.

Service with honor means providing police service respectfully and recognizing the dignity of every person.  We can demand that others respect and honor our work only when we respect them and their rights.  We provide police service with the highest degree of professionalism.  Every day we come into contact with crime victims, residents afraid to enjoy their neighborhoods, and young people scared to stand up and do the right thing.  Our job is to help them and to do so with courtesy and compassion.

Integrity is the foundation for building a successful relationship with our partners.  Integrity means reflecting our values through our actions.  It is not enough to espouse honor, service, and integrity.  Each of us must live these values in our professional and personal lives.  We do this by being honest in our dealings, abiding by the laws, and respecting the civil rights of all.  Serving with integrity builds trust between the community and the police.

Meet the Chief

In 1925, Prichard was incorporated as a city. During World War II, the defense industry and shipbuilding expanded in Mobile, and Prichard became a company town. Many Mobile shipbuilding companies-built homes for their workers in Prichard. The 1940s and 1950s saw phenomenal growth in the Mobile area, which accompanied expansion of the defense and shipbuilding industries during and after World War II. During the 1950s and 1960s, Prichard annexed historic Whistler as well as parts of Eight Mile and Kushla.

The Prichard Police Department is budgeted for forty-five sworn officers with an additional ten civilian employees. The department is broken down into multiple divisions to better meet the needs of the citizens.

The Patrol Division is tasked with first response and is usually the initial point of contact with the community. The patrol division provides a quick response and immediate solutions for emergency situations. The Patrol Division performs the initial investigations on scene and then forwards their findings to the appropriate investigative team.

The Criminal Investigative Division is responsible for follow up investigations generated in the patrol division. Although our detectives are trained to investigate multiple types of crimes, we have individual detectives specially trained to investigate specific types of crimes. Some of their special training is divided into capital crimes, sex crimes, property crimes and financial crimes. We also have detectives that specialize in crime scene investigation and evidence collection.

The Communications Division is responsible for answering the citizens when they call the Prichard Police Department. They also are responsible for dispatching out calls. This division is very intricate part of the police department.

The Property and Evidence Division is a unit designed to fulfill multiple, ever changing duties. The intake of property and evidence is very important. It is also a delicate and sensitive duty. This division takes everything from drugs to currency. The property and evidence unit also transports evidence to be tested and to court hearings.

Guiding Principles

The guiding principles of the Prichard Police Department will employ effective crime fighting strategies to accomplish our mission.

1.    Commit to excellence.
2.    Measure the important things.
3.    Build a culture around service.
4.    Create and develop great leaders.
5.    Focus on employees.
6.    Build individual accountability.
7.    Align behaviors with goals and values.
8.    Communicate at all levels.
9.    Recognize and reward success.
10.  Align Prichard Police Department principles
       with the vision of the Mayor and city leaders.

Community Policing

Community policing is the philosophy of the Prichard Police Department. This means working with and through the community to achieve our shared goal of a safer city.

Priorities and crime fighting tactics will vary by neighborhood and will be built in collaboration with neighborhood residents, businesses, and public agencies.  We will work together to address neighborhood crime and disorder problems where all partners are accountable for taking action.  Community policing means that police officers and residents will get to know each other; come to trust and rely on one another.

The community policing philosophy is our orientation and the guiding principles are the doctrines that will guide our work.  It is the promise of how we will reduce disorder, fight and prevent crime.

Intelligent Policing

Our strategies, tactics, and allocation of resources will be guided by information, intelligence, and nationally recognized best police practices.  We will use accurate, current statistical data, along with human intelligence.  We will develop innovative strategies to combat crime and disorder.  We will constantly monitor the success of these strategies against ever-changing trends and patterns.  Adjustments will be fluid and immediate when necessary.

Collaboration

Fighting crime and disorder is not just the job of the police, it is everyone’s job.  All stakeholders in Prichard must come and work together on both a citywide and neighborhood level to combat these problems.  We are all accountable!  Thus, the Prichard Police Department will aggressively seek to establish and re-establish real working partnerships with our communities, the public, private institutions, and other city, state, and federal agencies to set goals and to implement strategies.  Only as a true collaborative team with real accountability, will we achieve our common goal of a safer Prichard.

Prevention

Fighting crime and disorder alone will not make the citizens of Prichard feel safe in their homes and on the streets.  Thus, the Prichard Police Department will dedicate resources to prevent crime and disorder from occurring in the first place. However, prevention is also the work of families, schools, the clergy, the courts, public and private social service, agencies, and the business community. Knowing this, the Prichard Police Department will share as appropriate, its information and expertise with these entities so that everyone will know how to better prevent crime and disorder from even occurring.  As a result, all residents of Prichard can be focused on the same goal and we can begin to ensure a better future for all of Prichard.

We live in an ever-changing world.  As a result, the specific tactics and actions of our crime fighting strategy will change over time as crime changes and progress is made.  However, our mission, core values, and guiding principles will not change.