The Vision of the Columbia Police Department

As the leader of the Columbia Police Department, it is my vision:

That we treat every person we encounter as a “citizen customer” worthy of our very best.

That we continuously earn and maintain the public trust through our open communication and the transparency of our operations.

That we engage our community and business partners with a philosophy of shared ownership and problem solving as we seek to improve their quality of life.

That by working together we can find innovative solutions to public safety problems related to crime, the fear of crime, disorder, and decay.

That we continuously strive for improvement in our services by remaining open to learning new things, and adopting the “best practices” of our profession.

That we promote the judicious use of technology as we seek to address the concerns of our citizens and business community.

That we remain committed to recruiting and hiring the best and brightest employees, and that we then develop them to manage the future of law enforcement in our community.

Kenneth M. Burton, Chief of Police
Columbia Police Department
April 2009