Today marks the fourth in an eight-part series on the Port St. Lucie Police Department and the priority it places on community policing. For the officers who wear the badge in the safest large city in Florida, customer service is among the highest of priorities. It’s a concept that has been in place since the police department was founded in 1980 – and one that promises to continue to evolve and stay in place for many more years to come in the city of 200,000-plus residents.

The Port St. Lucie Police Department makes it a priority to connect with residents in a variety of ways, with some of the most successful interactions coming via the annual National Night Out event and demonstrations by its K-9 unit, SWAT Team, bomb squad, motorcycle officers and others.

“National Night Out is all about giving crime a going-away party,” PSL Police Assistant Chief Richard Del Toro said. “It’s all about crime prevention, getting with our community and letting them know what we do, what services we offer, what are their needs and what are they looking for.”

The most recent National Night Out took place this past October. The police department unveiled a special breast-cancer-awareness patrol vehicle and officers from various units spoke with residents and explained what they do and why they do it. Many of those officers then participated in demonstrations that were highly popular with the applauding crowd.

Del Toro said the event also gave officers the opportunity to speak with residents about something they are quite proud off – Port St. Lucie’s long-standing run of being the safest city in Florida with a population of 100,000 or more.

“I never get tired of talking about that because that’s our Super Bowl rings,” he said. “It is what we do. We fight crime. We fight disorder and improve the quality of life in our community.”

Del Toro said over the past 10 years, crime is down 58 percent in Port St. Lucie – lower than the crime rate when the city had half the population it does now.

“When we have National Night Out, it’s a way for us to celebrate with our community,” Del Toro said, “Because they’re a big piece of that, too.

Del Toro pointed out that his department has 273 officers to provide service for more than 200,000 residents, which some might consider a daunting task.

“We would never be able to police everything perfectly with that amount of officers, and that’s a big department,” he said. “But 200,000 residents is a lot. So, we have to have that partnership with the community where they’re our extra eyes, they’re our ears, they’re giving us information and helping us solve crimes. They believe in what we’re doing, and that’s all a big part of community policing, too.”

That partnership with the community was certainly evident during the most recent National Night Out. One of the many highlights came when Del Toro, Chief John Bolduc and PSL Mayor Shannon Martin unveiled the police department’s breast cancer awareness-themed patrol vehicle that paid tribute to two of their own – Supervisor Kim Reisinger and Det. Janet Palmer.

“It’s something that is just real near and dear to us and we want to show them that we’re always thinking about them,” Del Toro at the event. “When our residents see the car, they know PSL PD is behind them 100 percent.”

Another big draw came when two of the department’s K-9 officers put on a show with their dogs. Officer Mitch Miller and Blek were joined by Officer Corey Krecic and Jaxson as they showed the attendees how talented and experienced the department’s K-9 teams are and gave them a glimpse of what they do on a daily basis.

After Miller gave an overview of the department’s K-9 teams, Krecic and Jaxson stole the show with a tracking display that wowed the crowd. Jaxson was frisky and showing love for Krecic after finding the object he was searching for and getting plenty of rubs and praise.

Miller and Blek then put on a display of power as Krecic played the part of the “bad guy” with a heavy pad on his arm. Blek took care of business by chasing down Krecic and stopping him in his tracks before taking the pad and proudly presenting it to Miller – a move that brought plenty of praise to the highly talented animal.

The same kind of reaction came later in October when Miller and Blek appeared alongside many other officers at a Halloween pumpkin patch at First United Methodist Church of Port St. Lucie. Smiling children lined up to have their photos taken with the lovable K-9 as he wagged his tail, received plenty of rubs and thoroughly enjoyed chomping on his chew toy.

“He loves kids,” Miller said of his partner. “He grew up with a bunch of kids, so he does really well with them.”

Del Toro said those kinds of events are vital for the solid relationship the police department has with those it serves on a daily basis.

“When we open up to the public and let them come in and see us through citizens police academies, citizens summits, the city university, National Night Out or just interacting with us on calls for service, they just learn more about us, why we do business the way we do,” he said.

The assistant chief added that it’s always a plus to see officers like Miller and Krecic enjoying their time with area residents and receiving praise for what they do.

“When we get that encouragement, it’s so uplifting for our officers” he said. “It makes them do such a better job. They really do have a good time, and they have a good time because we work for a city that appreciates its police officers, not only from management and leadership of the City Council, but from our citizens. It just makes the job that much more refreshing to us all the time.”

Coming Wednesday, Jan. 5: How was customer service top of mind during the recent Festival of Lights event?