RICHMOND, Va. -- CBS 6 asked several Virginia police departments if they planned changes similar to what Henrico Police announced.On Monday, Henrico Police announced they would no longer send officers to respond to calls deemed minor or better handled by another department.
Richmond Police, Chesterfield Police, Petersburg Police, and Colonial Heights Police all told CBS 6 they had no plans to change the way police officers respond to certain calls for service in their cities.
Richmond Police
Richmond Police said the department already used a priority-based system to respond to calls, according to spokesperson James Mercante.
In that system, calls with the lowest priority are handled by what they termed a “differential police response."
Mercante said that type of response is a way to collect information about an incident and assign officers and detectives to follow up as needed..
The system relieves the burden on patrol officers so they can respond to calls that are a higher priority, Mercante said.
Petersburg Police
Petersburg Police Deputy Chief Emmanuel Chambliss said there were no plans to change the calls for service to which they respond, but if that changes they will send out a press release.
Colonial Heights
In Colonial Heights, Police Chief William Anspach said they also had no plans to change response, but added they would monitor Henrico to see if there were lessons learned that could guide them in their mission to deliver “effective and efficient police services.”
Chesterfield Police
Chesterfield Police say that have no plans to change their criteria for how they "respond to the needs of the community."
Colonel Katz said the following regarding Henrico's new changes:
Every jurisdiction makes decisions with respect to how resources will be allocated in their community. Those decisions are informed by an array of variables including, but not limited to: community expectations, staffing, budget priorities, etc.
We have been asked today if CCPD is changing our response protocols for police. I want to make it clear that we are absolutely not changing these protocols. If you request our assistance, we are going to send help to you in the same manner we always have.
Hanover Sheriff
"Our response to calls for service has not and will not change," Hanover Sheriff Col. David Hines said. "Our community has an expectation of service, and we will continue to meet that expectation. Community Policing is our culture, and we see every call for service as an opportunity to build a relationship."
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