The COPS Office Announces Winners of the 2018 L. Anthony Sutin Civic Imagination Award

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) this week announced organizations in the cities of Charlotte, North Carolina and St. Cloud, Minnesota as winners of the 2018 L. Anthony Sutin Civic Imagination Award. 

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department’s (CMPD) Independence Division, in partnership with Promise Youth Development, commit time to mentoring, tutoring, playing sports, or just being a big brother or sister to young people who live in underserved, low income neighborhoods. The mission of Promise Youth Development is to develop and empower youth through academic enrichment, health promotion and career exploration for confident transition into adulthood. 

The Greater St. Cloud Public Safety Foundation, which works in conjunction with the St. Cloud Police Department and other first responders, is an initiative led by the private sector to create the support structure necessary to build trust – a key component of community policing.  They create community outposts in disadvantaged neighborhoods to improve public safety and quality of life. 

“The partnerships we’re recognizing today are unique and indicative of the type of work we like to honor within the Department of Justice,” said COPS Office Director Phil Keith.  “These are projects that we hope other police departments take notice of and try to replicate in their own neighborhoods.”

“We are honored to be recognized for our continued dedication to community policing and the collaborative efforts that make a difference to the people we serve,” said CMPD Chief Kerr Putney.

Wm. Blair Anderson, Chief of the St. Cloud Police Department, stated that, “The award is affirmation and recognition that our efforts are not in vain. It also reminds us and motivates us to remember that although we have excelled and done well in this endeavor, we must continue to work hard to make sure ours is a community that embodies the spirit of cooperation, compassion, and consideration for one another.”

The L. Anthony Sutin Civic Imagination Award is named in memory of Tony Sutin, who served as a founder and deputy director of the COPS Office from its creation in 1994 to 1996. This annual award is bestowed upon a collaborative team of law enforcement and community members whose innovative civic interactions have transformed public safety in their community. The ideal nominee creates community collaborations that are innovative, creative and transformative; displays civic leadership through problem solving and collaborative partnerships; and promotes public safety through dedication to the community policing philosophy.

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide.  Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 130,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance.  For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.