Dewey chief highlights first-year accomplishments

Dewey Beach Police Chief Constance Speake outlined her first-year accomplishments, including enhanced officer training and the securement of $314,000 in grant funding, at the commissioners’ Jan. 19 meeting.

Speake said she used the organizational analysis the town commissioned in 2019 as a roadmap.

“I made the determination as to what issues needed immediate attention,” she said.

Speake said department personnel had not been given the necessary and basic tools, such as updated body armor and medical trauma kits for self-care, to safely conduct their jobs. This has been corrected, she said.

The property and evidence storage room was bursting at its seams, she said, and many items were not properly disposed of after the case’s adjudication. Illegal drugs from arrests made 10 years ago were still kept, she noted, and the procedure for logging and maintaining evidence was severely outdated. 

The property room has since been inventoried, she said, and any evidence or remaining property was disposed of according to rules of evidence and property guidelines.

Speake said the arrestee detention area was not adequately secured, and inspection logs for vehicles and weapons did not exist.

New handcuffs and leg irons were issued, she said. A detention chair was installed, with officers trained in its proper use, and a new evidence computer with software and barcode scanner was purchased to log property.

In her report, Speake noted that yearly employee performance evaluations had not been completed regularly in decades and that the 2019 analysis detailed a severe lack of quality training.

After meeting with employees to learn their interests and goals, Speake said she drafted a list of training opportunities, including de-escalation strategies and techniques, internal investigations, and leadership, to meet their needs.

All sworn patrol personnel are now trained and certified as field training officers, she said, and Sgt. Colin Schmidt and PFC Matthew Planer are certified firearms instructors. When the former lieutenant left his position, she said, the department had no certified firearms instructors and had to rely on other agencies for training.

In all, she said, officers completed just under 1,100 hours of in-person or web-based training, not counting firearms and academy recruit training. A comprehensive performance evaluation tool is now in place, she said.

Speake said she secured grants totaling just under $314,000 to pay for cameras, vests, helmets, vehicle equipment, weapons and other costly items.

“We will continue to apply for grants at every opportunity,” she said.

Officers now wear dark blue uniforms made of breathable stretch fabric that allow for free movement, can be washed at home and cost much less than the previous ones, she said.

Vests expire after five years, she said, and officer vests that were outdated have been replaced. Officers’ names are clearly visible on uniforms, she said. 

All sworn officers began using body-worn cameras before the 2023 season, she said, noting cameras increase transparency, ensure accountability, are used in administrative and criminal investigations, and can help improve training and policies.

A number of employees were promoted and elevated to full-time status, she said, and the recruit officers at the police academy are set to graduate in March and be ready to go before Memorial Day weekend. Six of last year’s seasonal officers have confirmed they will return for the 2024 season, she said.

At least two officers are working the 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. evening shift every night, she said. It’s reasonable for a citizen to expect to find a police station open 24/7, she wrote in her report.

Large reflective lettering was added to vehicles to increase visibility, she said, and rear reflective striping was placed to reduce rear-end collisions. Window tint was removed from most vehicles to increase approachability by citizens, she said; tinting remains on K-9 vehicles to reduce interior temperatures.

A $130,000 Energize Delaware grant has enabled the purchase of two Ford F-150 electric trucks and charging stations. Speake said the vehicles should arrive in March, and be outfitted and on the road in April.

The department’s Facebook page is now used not only to post significant arrests, but also to highlight community interactions and staff accomplishments, she said. Plans call for new Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) accounts to push out real-time updates on closures or significant incidents. 

A community public safety fair is being planned for September, she said.

Future plans include training an officer to conduct complex criminal investigations as designated investigator, filling two vacant positions, and enhancing career opportunities through training, she said.

After the briefing, Commissioner Gary Persinger said he had previously questioned the police department’s requests for increased resources.

“I would just have to say, looking at your report and all you’ve accomplished over the past year, it really was money well spent,” Persinger said.

Statistics

From May to December 2023, the department’s full-time officers recorded the following: 

1,925 calls for service
493 parking tickets
67 accidents
16 DUI arrests
7 ordinance arrests
67 adult criminal arrests
2 juvenile criminal arrests
64 warrant arrests

From May to November 2023, the department’s seasonal officers recorded the following:

702 parking tickets
233 civil violations
100 criminal violations
128 arrests