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We believe the
men and women of the State College Police Department are its most valuable
asset and the essential ingredient to effectively and efficiently accomplish
the police mission.
We believe in
the equitable, fair and impartial application of laws and ordinances without
regard to race, color, creed, sex, or station in life, and in treating all
individuals with tolerance, compassion and the dignity we would expect if
found in similar circumstances.
We believe in
the preservation of basic human rights and the maintenance of individual human
dignity under the rule and spirit of law, which dictates that the ends do not
always justify the means and that punishment is not the function of the
police.
We believe in
providing quality, empathetic, responsive and professional service to the citizens
and visitors of our community. Additionally, we believe the citizens of
State College have endowed us with a public trust. We will honor that
trust by holding ourselves to the highest standards of professional police
conduct, wholly subscribing to the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics established
by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
We believe in
the decentralization of authority downward within the organization of the
State College Police Department concomitant with accountability and
responsibility for actions taken or omitted.
We believe
that proactive team management, open communication and employee input, prior
to policy and procedure implementation, are the norm in the State College
Police Department. Once decisions are made, we realize it is critical
that everyone (including dissenters) work together toward achieving
department goals.
We believe a
written Policy, Rules and Regulations Manual is necessary to guide each
member of this Department in the performance of their duties. However,
rules cannot be written to cover all contingencies. Therefore, we
believe all actions taken by Department personnel must be legal,
professional, reasonable and consistent with the spirit and intent of this
philosophy statement, the Constitution of the United States, the laws of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the ordinances of the jurisdictions in which
we serve.
We believe
that crime and other community nuisances are social ills that we, as police
personnel, are incapable of conquering alone. We believe our
responsibility is to provide service, leadership, guidance and protection to
our citizens, who in partnership with us, strive to make our community a
safer and more pleasant place to live.
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