Chief Jeffrey O'Brien
Welcome to the Traverse City Police Department (TCPD) Web Page. It is an honor to be the Chief of Police in a dynamic community. It is a privilege to be the leader of a dedicated and professional group of police officers.
Traverse City is rapidly becoming a diverse city with a population of 15,000 people. The Traverse City Police Department was one of the leaders in implementing community policing in the 1980s and 1990s. Working closely with Michigan State School of Criminal Justice and Regional Community Policing Institute; the Traverse City Police Department developed community policing strategies for several decades. With the decrease of government funding for community policing, we saw our community policing sector patrol reduced to two officers.
In June of 2015, the TCPD formed a Community Policing Committee to get back to our roots. We now have Team Policing which provides our four service areas twenty-four-seven community police services. This organizational transformation decentralizes our department by assigning several officers to the four geographic areas. Our officers have ownership of their service areas and are accountable for problem-solving in their assigned areas.
Our goal is to integrate the community policing philosophy into the culture of our police department. We establish this culture by obtaining community partnerships with our neighborhoods, businesses, and schools to maintain our quality of life and keep our community safe. Our belief is that a community that is engaged and feels heard by its police department will be more supportive of us.
In conjunction with community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem-solving, the TCPD utilizes Crimemapping and other evidence-based policing techniques to utilize smart policing techniques. This data-driven strategy explains to our community why we shift resources and direct officers to problem areas.
Thank you for browsing our web page. We welcome any comments that you have to improve the quality of life in our beautiful city.
I can be reached at (231) 995-5155. My email is jobrien@traversecitymi.gov