GULF SHORES, AL. Chief Edward Delmore of the Gulf Shores Police Department has been invited to the White House to participate in a briefing about 21^st Century Policing.

In December 2015, President Obama organized a Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Five months later, on May 15, the task force issued its final report. Delmore will travel to Washington today and the briefing takes place tomorrow afternoon.  

“Most of the recommendations contained in the task force’s report are directed at the approximately 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies spread throughout the country,” according to Ron Davis, Task Force executive director.

The recommendations are organized around six main topic areas or pillars: Building Trust and Legitimacy, Policy and Oversight, Technology and Social Media, Community Policing and Crime Reduction, Officer Training and Education, and Officer Safety and Wellness.

Delmore will join police executives from across the United States to hear task force recommendations for helping to keep police officers and neighborhoods safe.

The Gulf Shores Police Department has been recognized for their efforts in Community Policing, Technology, and Social Media. Officer Safety and Wellness are also priorities of the agency.

Last year GSPD was one of only two Departments in Alabama receiving federal grants to hire additional officers allowing other veteran officers to be utilized in Gulf Shores Schools.

GSPD conducts a Citizen Police Academy and Youth Academy each year. The department has an active ’”Volunteers in Police Service Program” and a Police Explorer Program. 

Delmore is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit. The unit was formed in 2012 to provide shared resources and manpower during homicide investigations but also to provide experienced, objective detectives to investigate officer involved shootings and in-custody deaths.

Delmore believes those initiatives – all of which receive mention in the task force report - are the reason for his invitation to Washington.

“We were among the first, if not the first, in the United States to equip every patrol officer with a body worn camera,” Delmore said. “We did that more than six years ago. We were also one of the first three departments in the nation to implement the community policing program ‘Coffee with a Cop.’

“GSPD has embraced social media including Facebook and Twitter. We are one of few that periodically ‘Tweet from the Beat.’”

While honored by the invitation, Delmore added he didn’t agree with all of the task force recommendations.

“There’s been a vilification lately of American law enforcement officers and I consider this administration to be partially responsible for that,” he said.

One part of the report opines that officers should have a “guardian” mindset as opposed to a “warrior” mindset.

“Today’s law enforcement officer has to have both,” Delmore said. “My people are expected to be guardians day in and day out and we obviously embrace community policing in a big way.

But it is also absolutely essential that they have the ability to shift immediately to a posture that will fight to save innocent lives.  It may not be politically correct but we still have to maintain a tactical skill set.”