NEW PORT RICHEY – The city of New Port Richey recently purchased 10 new vehicles for its police department, but those on the road might not notice at first that the modern-looking, all-white vehicle cruising on the next to him is actually a police car.
The new cars have a modern design that Police Chief Robert Kochen told Suncoast News features graphics designed in-house by talented staff members and was unanimously voted on by the department. The cars light up in the dark for easier visibility, and, he said, while making them look more modern, the new car design is saving the city money.
“The cars come in white; the blue design on previous cars was a wrap that cost $2,500 per car,” he said. Now, the graphics are applied to a white car and the “decoration” costs only $600 per car. Eventually, all cars will have the same look, including the use of a new department insignia also designed in-house.
The more modern look, however, is only the outward manifestation of a “rebranding” of the department that Kochen has underway.
The former Tarpon Springs police chief, who took over the NPRPD in late January, inherited a department that was the subject of controversy and contentious relations with some residents, particularly from minority communities.
But even before he was installed, he said, he and City Manager Debbie Manns agreed on some courses of action. Among them, obtaining state certification for the department, a rigorous process that involves meeting more than 400 specific milestones and that can take up to two years. The department has started the process, Kochen said.
Among the planned innovations is the creation of a CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) to deal with issues such as homelessness, mental health issues, addictions and community policing initiatives.
“We have to be real about this,” Kochen told the City Council on May 2. “It’s in our community; we deal with it every day. You can’t hide from it. You can’t stop at homelessness; you have to be proactive.”
Kochen said that in his previous position, his department helped 150 people transition from homelessness, for example, and “We can do that here. If it’s done right, it can have a huge impact on services for to the people who really need it.”
Although the department’s CIT will start small, he said the city is off to a good start: “Fifty percent of our officers (already) have CIT training, which teaches officers how to deal with people in crisis. Statistics show that when they’re trained to deal with people in crisis, those people get help for services, instead of being arrested, and that’s our goal.” Kochen said he eventually hopes all NPRPD officers will receive the training.
In the meantime, he will reassign the department’s school resource managers to the CIT. At the meeting, Kochen requested, and the board approved, an agreement whereby the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office will take over SRO duties at the middle school and high school so those officers can work with the CIT.
“These resources will be much more beneficial to be in-house, to work with this team,” he said, adding: “We will always continue to work with them (PCSO); we will partner with them and train with them.”
Kochen said he and Manns are already talking about a social worker as a possible addition to the effort and, “I know if we get it right and get the right people, we can be very successful.”
