At Lincoln South Rotary Club on January 21 we heard from our new Lincoln Police Chief Teresa Ewins.
Chief Ewins came to Lincoln from San Francisco. She was appointed by Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and is our fist female Police Chief.
She was born in southern California and she always wanted to be a police officer. Her family moved to the Bay area when she was about 10 and she was on the San Francisco police force for 26 years. She said she was a better athlete than student and she never wanted to be behind a desk. So, what brings her to the chief position - where she is sitting behind a desk? Her passion for leadership development - the gratification of working with the community - working with society to work through issues.
During her presentation to Lincoln South Rotary Club, Teresa talked about leadership - providing mentors and supervision through a police department. She works with all of the members on the force - they do not work for her. She stated that the officers in Lincoln are good. But she believes that a few additional levels might provide more support for the officers. "Everyone makes mistakes and I take responsibility for those in my command area. If they failed , the leadership did something to be a part of that."
She stated that the lieutenant positions were eliminated a while back to help the budget and there more reliance of the sargeants. The sargeants are good and are fit for the job. But, that position does not have as much time and experience so cannot provide some of the strong leadership and mentoring that is needed by the young officers.
Chief Ewins has appointed some Assistant Police Chiefs to bring some focus to the different areas of operations needed on the force.
Another area she wants to improve is diversity. The Lincoln Police Department signed the 30X30 pledge (https://30x30initiative.org/the-30x30-pledge/).By signing the 30X30 Pledge, LPD is dedicated to diversifying its staff, to better reflect the community they serve.
While in San Francisco she spent the majority of her time on the streets. Not everyone that she arrested was a bad person, some just made bad decisions. As she worked with the individuals she got to know them and would counsel them. She would found out what brought them to this place and help them find the services they need.
She feels that her experience will help reduce the gang and criminal area. She said that everyone in the department is proactive - they try to stop crime before it happens rather than make the arrests after they occur. With regard to gangs, she said that they study surrounding areas. How prosecution is handled influences where gang activity occurs. Communicating with each other - getting to know the landscape - will guide them.
How people view the internal atmosphere of the department will influence how they believe they - the public - will be treated. It is important to address all internal issues such as the current harassment issue as quickly as possible.
Lincoln Police Department will soon be issuing updated policies. These are made public. Chief Ewins indicated that they will make sure that the public not only knows what the policies are, but will understand what they mean - how it impacts the actions of LPD.
The community can help with all policing efforts. Businesses should have sufficient lighting and cameras. Individuals should lock their doors and windows and not leave their cars open.
The LPD officers are passionate about the community - they love the department - they do need to hear that they are appreciated.
BIO
Teresa Ewins was a Commander with the San Francisco Police Department.
Over the course of her 26-year policing career in San Francisco, she served in the Field Operations Bureau, Investigations Bureau, and Special Operations Bureau (Homeland Security and Tactical Company). In her current role as Commander of Field Operations Bureau-Metro Division, Teresa oversees 5 of the 10 District Stations in the downtown area with approximately 900 sworn members. Teresa gained an added layer of experience in operationalizing 21st Century and community-focused policing principles as she led SFPD’s work to develop policy to minimize bias in policing with the Department of Justice Collaborative Reform Initiative. Teresa was born in Santa Monica, California and spent the majority of her life in Northern California in the Bay Area until moving to Lincoln, Nebraska.
She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, has completed the FBI National Academy; Harvard Kennedy School’s State and Local Government; and the Police Executive Research Forum’s (PERF) Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP).