Community Policing

The Worcester Police Department is a strong advocate of community policing and the problem solving strategies embraced by this philosophy. We believe that a police department will never be truly successful without lasting, trust-based partnerships within the community it serves.

Over the years the women and men of the Worcester Police Department have developed strong working relationships with local community based organizations, neighborhood associations, faith based groups, business owners, private citizens and other government agencies. By working together, the Worcester Police and these community stakeholders can provide long term solutions to the quality of life issues facing neighborhoods throughout the City of Worcester.

Each division within the Worcester Police Department plays a part in enhancing our police-community relations by undertaking outreach initiatives to help build and strengthen these relationships within the community.

Some examples of our outreach programs are:

AMPP Worcester
CIT Mental Health Outreach
CIT/Quality of Life Task Force - Homeless Outreach Program
Citizen Police Academy
Diversity Program
Gang Camp

Main South CDC - Police/Youth Dialogs
Police Athletic League (PAL)
Police/Clergy Partnership
School Resource Program
Worcester Program for Addiction Recovery (PAR) - Addiction Recovery Outreach
WPD Neighborhood Meetings Program

Neighborhood Response Team

Many police-community partnerships in the City of Worcester begin at the WPD Neighborhood Meetings. Officers from the Neighborhood Response Team are always on hand to promote and establish new working relationships with those who attend. To learn more about the Worcester Police community policing initiatives or the Neighborhood Meetings Program please contact the Neighborhood Response Team at 508-799-8664.

The Worcester Police Department encourages all residents to regularly attend their local Neighborhood Meetings. This is your opportunity to partner with your neighbors, the Worcester Police and elected officials, local business owners, community organizations and other City departments in solving the quality of life issues facing our City's neighborhoods. Your input and feedback is essential in keeping your neighborhood and the City of Worcester a safe and enjoyable place to live.

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Guns 2 Gardens

Guns 2 Gardens is a collaborative effort between the Worcester Police, UMass Memorial Medical Center, the Worcester Department of Public Health, the office of District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr., Worcester District Medical Society and the Injury-Free Coalition for Kids of Worcester. The public can anonymously turn in any operable guns in exchange for gift cards to local retail and supermarket outlets. Firearms are safely destroyed and transformed into tools for our community gardens.

The goals of this program are:

To remove unwanted improperly stored guns from homes;
To educate the community about the increased risk of gun-related injuries in the home and the importance of safe gun storage; and
To identify individuals possessing improperly stored guns at home and provide them with safety information and alternatives.