Our Mission: Keeping You Safe from Crime BY BILL WESTENBERGER
I am excited about this opportunity to write a column for the new Around Kennesaw magazine. With this first article, I thought it would be best to introduce myself and our great Kennesaw Police Department (KPD) team. It’s an honor to serve with the best servant leaders in law enforcement. We want you to know a little about us and what energizes our drive to serve you. It is the mission of the KPD to assure that our community is safe from crime and public disorder, by focusing on the prevention of crime, along with reducing the fear of crime. Our mission and values are the backbone of our organization, and they set the tone for our culture, how we work with one another and serve our community. Our values of Respect, Integrity, Service and Excellence (RISE) are the guide we use to navigate the toughest situations. Too often, members of our community and our officers are faced with difficult times. We want you to know that professionalism, dignity, inclusion, compassion and sympathy are what you should expect from our KPD team. We have a job to do, but it should be carried out by doing the right thing, every time. It’s not just how we serve, it’s the accountability we hold ourselves to that creates excellence. Our training, policies and practices are set in line with the highest standards in law enforcement. In many cases, we exceed what’s expected. We have been accredited through the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies and the State of Georgia Law Enforcement Certification for many years. A great deal of our training time is grounded in de-escalation, cultural diversity and critical thinking. Each year, we improve, by applying relative training and education that makes us better community servants. The staff of KPD is engaged with the community in many ways. Beyond everyday personal interactions, we pride ourselves in sponsoring community programs
such as the Explorers, Jerry Worthan Christmas Fund, Citizen’s Police Academy and Special Olympics, to name a few. This year, we co-hosted the first annual One Community: A Celebration of Unity on June 19 ( Juneteenth). We plan to expand this event in years to come, as we focus on unifying our community and being leaders in doing so. I started my career in law enforcement in Atlanta in 1991 with the MARTA Police Department, where I had opportunities to serve in many areas and advance to the rank of lieutenant. In 2004, I was honored to be named KPD’s assistant chief. In 2008, I was blessed to be promoted to chief. Throughout my career, I’ve seen and participated in some great things, and worked through some tough times. None seem tougher than 2020. As we navigated through COVID-19 and public unrest, it presented an atmosphere for loss in so many ways. I watched as our officers remained true to their badge, meeting protestors with hugs while sharing pain and tears. After roundtables and discussions, I saw the need and assembled the Chief ’s Advisory Board, made up of a group of diverse community leaders. The focus of this board is listening and engaging with other perspectives, to hear and understand. It’s an honor to serve this community. I look forward to my continued engagement with you through this column. In addition, I ask you to engage with us through our social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Until next time … stay safe!
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We have a job to do, but it should be carried out by doing the right thing, every time.
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Bill Westenberger has served as chief since 2008. He was given the 2019 Kennesaw Citizen of the Year Award.
AROUND KENNESAW | August 2021
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