Transparency portal creates link between policing, community

RED OAK – Often programs initiated within city departments are not as successful as the model presented.

In the case of the Red Oak Police Department’s Transparency Portal initiated by Assistant Police Chief Marc Schroeder, he said it has been a wonderful way for the PD to cultivate new relationships with the community and the media while also building on existing relationships too.

The Transparency Portal is an online solution designed to bring better visibility, openness, and accountability to the community.

It offers a one-stop portal to access public information relating to the Red Oak Police Department, its operations, and interactions with the public.

The portal was launched in April 2017 after Schroeder attended a Leadership Command College at Texas A&M.

“I had been exchanging various ideas with other law enforcement administrators, and several of us had discussed a transparency portal for a website, with some agencies already in the process of implementing the portal,” he explained.

“I made the decision at that time to create our own transparency portal, and selected various items of useful information to add to it.”

Overall, through the use of the portal, data found there can assist the public more easily in understanding the operations of the police department.

Schroeder said it also builds trust between community members and the personnel and operations staff of the Red Oak Police Department.

“I believe the portal provides our community with a direct insight into what is going on within the community through the monthly and annual reports that we publish, as well as familiarizing the community with the men and women that have taken an oath of service for the city of Red Oak,” Schroeder said.

“The transparency portal coupled with the department’s social media presence adds to the level of information and transparency with our community.”

The Transparency Portal page includes access to Annual Reports, Monthly Reports, Annual Racial Profiling Reports, Press Releases, Online Crash Report Access, Open Records Request submissions and an interactive Crime Stats Map.

Schroeder said the page will continue to evolve as does the community.

“We continue to add information that our community can access instantly, and we are always open to any suggestions to add other useful information or applications to the transparency portal,” Schroeder concluded.

The transparency portal can be viewed at www.redoaktx.org/955/Transparency-Portal.