Annual Police Report for 2021
Dear Community of North Liberty,
In 2021, the City of North Liberty did not see many changes in crime trends from the previous year. We attribute this to the continuation of COVID and the precautions associated with being in a high-risk county for most of the year. Mask wearing, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting surfaces were still a big part of our routine throughout the facility, vehicles and public interactions.
The department celebrated a number of firsts in 2021.
-In conjunction with Kirkwood Learning Connections, we hosted our first mini police academy for 15 high school students
-Provided forty-four full Thanksgiving meals to families in North Liberty
-All sworn members completed implicit bias and de-escalation training, in person, and with our own instructors
-Participated in Active Bystandership in Law Enforcement (ABLE) for the duty to intercede training
-Hosted 3 interns
-Received a “Gold” award from Lexipol for completion of policy updates in a timely manner, the percentage of staff to sign off, and the acknowledgment of daily training bulletins. It is critical to ensure changes made to the policy are timely, reflect recent changes to law enforcement practices, and are understood by members of the department.
-Implemented the contact tracing program for all officer-initiated community contacts The men and women of the department continue to work on finding alternative methods of problem solving.
Training remains a high priority for our department, and we were able to add new training topics in 2021. Officers participated in training for implicit bias, de-escalation, and the duty to intercede, or ABLE (Active Bystandership in Law Enforcement).
In partnership with North Liberty Fire and Johnson County EMA, the department acquired an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and trained two officers to be pilots. The department has used the UAS to successfully locate a person in crisis, a lost individual, and to support the apprehension of a dangerous individual with outstanding federal felony warrants.
It is hard to believe that we have been in the new building for a full year. We continue to look for ways to best utilize the facility to effectively serve the community. We began to offer tours of the building to small groups of people. We also offered the public, and other entities to use rooms for various meetings and trainings. As with any new building, we have experienced some mechanical problems and other issues. We continue to work with the contractors on items that need repaired, but overall, have been very pleased with the facility. We appreciate that we have been able to utilize the facility to its fullest and offer others to do the same as well.
The department saw some staffing changes and the creation of a new position. A public relations officer/property crime investigator position was added to our investigations unit. The duties of this investigator is to coordinate community events, as well as work to close out property crime cases from previous years. This position has been a great addition and will continue to be an important part of the department as we move forward.
We had two newer patrol officers leave the department and move onto other opportunities. We appreciate the time they put in to the department and wish them luck in their future endeavors. With their departure, we were able to bring back an officer who previously worked for the department. We had a recruit attend the 300th Basic Iowa Law Enforcement Academy after returning from a yearlong military deployment. We finished the year with one open position and plan on filling it with an already certified officer in early 2022.
In 2021 the North Liberty Police Department initiated an internal program to capture more information on the individuals with whom we interact. This information is used to support a contact with Dr. Barnum, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at St. Ambrose University. The contract with Dr. Barnum will help us uncover any trends in the interactions with the public in order to improve our service to the city and residents of North Liberty.
The department continued with its programs of giving back to the community. Officer Santiago organized his 25th and final toy drive for DVIP. Many children benefited from the generosity of the community and Officer Santiago’s efforts during the holiday season. Once again, the department set up a giving tree in the lobby to collect holiday gifts for children in the community. Also, Officer Madole set up a Thanksgiving meal program for individuals and families in North Liberty. Z’s Catering made a wonderful meal consisting of turkey and side, and Hy-Vee donated rolls to complete the meal. Thank you to everyone who helps us with these programs, either via service or financially. We could not do it without your help!
At the end of the year, the City acknowledges two individuals for employees of the year. This year, we had not only one, but two members receive awards. Alisha Ruffcorn was nominated and received the employee of the year award for the police department and Lauryn Rich was nominated and received the award for the City employee of the year award. Both of these individuals do an outstanding job for this department and our community. We truly appreciate the work Alisha and Lauryn do for the department and the city.
We continue to appreciate the support our city leaders, community members, and local businesses have shown this department throughout the year. Thank you for taking the time to read this document. Hopefully it gives you a better understanding of the North Liberty Police Department. I know I can speak for our team members when I say that is an honor to serve you.
— Chief Diane Venenga
