MORGANTOWN, W.Va. The Morgantown Police Department has started to implement updated policies as the first social worker is added to the force.
Kelly Rice comes to Morgantown from the Federal Correctional Institution Hazleton and has experience as a drug treatment specialist for the Federal Correctional Institution Morgantown and with crisis interventions.
Now, Morgantown Police Chief Eric Powell is fine-tuning policies to allow Rice and future social workers on the force to have concrete plans in place for when they respond to calls. With Rice now working daytime shifts, Powell said they have made changes to allow her to be equipped with safety measures when she responds to emergencies with officers.
“The policy, which I’m still working on, is about what we’re going to give her,” said Powell on the policy updates. “We hadn’t planned on giving her her own vehicle, which we now have done; we’re giving her some body armor to wear, and she’s going to be able to carry pepper spray with her as well,” he said.
As she gets fully implemented into department operations, Powell said Rice will play a major role in determining the best policies for social workers in a police department.
“She’s been reaching out to a lot of agencies from around the country and getting sort of an idea of how they do their program,” said Powell. “And she’s come back with a lot of great suggestions, and it’s been really helpful,” he said.
When Rice responds to calls with Morgantown Police officers, she will arrive on the scene in plain clothes, along with body armor and pepper spray. The intention is to de-escalate a situation, so the lack of a uniform is designed to prevent the subject from becoming agitated. Powell said this will promote safety for Rice, the suspect, and the officers on the call, who may have been stereotyped by events beyond their control.
“We’re trying to shift that sort of mentality, where we’re looking for ways to, rather than put them in the legal system, divert them to what they need to get their help,” said Powell on WAJR’s Talk of the Town. “And maybe that’ll help the problem in the long run,” he said.
Powell also plans to offer crisis intervention training this summer as another avenue for police officers to safely de-escalate situations. These measures are part of a process by the Morgantown Police Department to focus on non-violent means to prevent a potential crisis. The hope is that, with the combination of new hires and the new training tactics, Morgantown Police officers will have an easier time doing their jobs in a non-violent fashion.
“Right now I’m still working on getting all of my CIT guys in place, which is going to happen before the end of the summer,” said Powell. “Once that gets all in place, it’ll hopefully have a positive impact on things,” he said.