The mission of the Coralville Police Department is to deliver quality police and emergency medical services to our community based on high ethical and professional standards. We protect life and property, are dedicated and courteous to our citizens, prevent crime, and apprehend those who break our laws.

Values Statement

SERVICE,  PRIDE,  and DEDICATION

Under the three headings of Service, Pride, and Dedication, we can articulate all of those values which guide our efforts to deliver quality police services to the citizens of Coralville. We are the Coralville Police Department and we stand and strive for Service, Pride, and Dedication - both in the carrying out of our duties and in the way in which we live our lives.

I. SERVICE:

A. We are service oriented. We see this community in a partnership role; our citizens are our partners as well as our clients and customers. We place our greatest value on human life and human dignity. Therefore, we:

1. Give first priority to situations which threaten life.
2. Use force only when necessary.
3. Treat all persons with courtesy and respect.
4. Are compassionate and caring.

B. As those who bear the public trust in our service, we are accountable to each other as well as the citizens whom we serve. Those citizens are the very source of our authority. Therefore, we:

1. Communicate openly and honestly among ourselves and with the community.
2. Understand the importance of community values and expectations.
3. Are responsive to community concerns.
4. Acknowledge our mistakes and are open to constructive criticism.
5. Treat public property and equipment with respect and care.

C. We thoroughly investigate complaints against our employees or procedures. We make appropriate corrections and take proper action when we are wrong, and defend our employees and procedures if they are found to be correct, regardless of political or popular pressure. We pride ourselves on being open and subject to review on how we conduct our business
As those dedicated to professional service, we are constantly striving to work with the community and solve problems. Therefore, we:

1. Give high priority to crime prevention and community safety.
2. Allow our officers greater use of discretion in addressing community problems.
3. Implement practices that afford greater contact between police and community groups.
4. Seek effective ways to ensure the collection and management of crime-related information.
5. Manage resources in a manner that encourages the creativity and pro-activeness of our officers.
6. Encourage our officers to expand their role in helping the community.

II. PRIDE:

A. We take pride in our department and in our profession. We are proud of who we are and what we do. As professionals, we are proud of the trust the public places in us individually, as a department, and in our profession. We are proud of our profession as police officers, and commit ourselves to always act in a manner as to bring officers, and commit ourselves to always act in a manner as to bring credit to our profession, our department, and ourselves. We are proud of our service, and strive to fulfill the standards of ethical conduct for police officers. Therefore, we:

1. Respect and protect the rights of all citizens.
2. Treat all persons fairly and without favoritism.
3. Are knowledgeable of the law.
4. Obey the law.
5. Enforce the law.
6. Maintain and respect confidentiality.

B. As professionals, to whom the law gives a clearly defined and demanding public trust, we strive for personal and professional excellence. Therefore, we:

1. Do our best at all times.
2. Have a vision for the future of our community and our department.
3. Lead by example.
4. Meet nationally recognized law enforcement standards.
5. Recognize and reward good performance.
6. Support, develop and encourage each other to achieve our maximum potential.
7. Cooperate with other law enforcement agencies.

C. We take pride in our ability to work together, often under stress, and sometimes in high-risk circumstances. We pride ourselves on being capable and caring people who are called upon to provide a service for the citizens of Coralville that is both important and satisfying to those of us who are engaged in it. Therefore, we:

1. Respect, trust, and support each other.
2. Are alert, disciplined, and reliable.
3. Keep our perspective and sense of humor even under duress.
4. Balance our professional and personal lives.
5. Treat those whom we serve with courtesy and dignity.
6. Maintain a positive "can-do" attitude toward challenges we face daily.
7. Focus on the positive, not dwell on the negative.
8. Consult and listen to those affected by our actions and decisions.
9. Cultivate our best characteristics: integrity, credibility, initiative, competence, judgment, and patience.

III. DEDICATION:

A. By virtue of our oath of office and our role as law enforcement officers, we are dedicated in a special way to the public's service and therefore carry the public's trust. Many in our profession have been called upon to honor such commitments by the giving of their lives. Therefore, we recognize we must sometimes put the needs of others ahead of our own even if it means the ultimate cost. In our partnership with the community we serve, we are dependent upon their trust. Because of this, we serve effectively only to the extent we are credible individually, as a department, and as a profession. We must preserve the integrity from which this credibility is born. Therefore, we:

1. Are honest and truthful.
2. Are consistent in our beliefs and actions.
3. Hold ourselves to the highest standards of moral and ethical conduct in both our professional and personal lives.
4. Serve as role models for the community.
5. Recognize that our success is dependent upon the trust and confidence of the community that we serve.

B. As those dedicated to public service, we recognize the centrality of partnership and cooperation, both within our department as well as with other departments and agencies and ultimately the community itself. We believe that cooperation and teamwork will enable us to blend our diverse backgrounds, skills, and styles in order to achieve common goals. Therefore, we:

1. Work as a team.
2. Understand our specific role in achieving departmental, city, and professional goals and objectives.
3. Share our responsibility to serve the citizens of Coralville with other agencies and organizations.
4. Recognize that we are a resource and we help the community keep itself safe.
5. Maintain peace and resolve conflict in a positive fashion.
6. Strive to understand those whose beliefs and opinions may differ from our own.

The above comprises the Values Statement of the Coralville Police Department. It embodies our philosophy of policing. It encompasses our values and the reasons why we hold to them. It sets forth our hope for the future of our community, our profession, our department, and ourselves. We recognize that this set of values, this philosophy of policing, will always be a yardstick by which we must measure ourselves, our efforts, our programs, our regulations, which we must measure ourselves, our efforts, our programs, our regulations, and our priorities.

Whether sworn or non-sworn, full-time or part-time, paid or volunteer, we are proud to belong to this department and to espouse these values.

Each of us know we will never be perfect as a department or profession, just as no one of us is ever perfect in our efforts to maintain and uphold these values. We work at it from day to day, achieving small successes and learning from our failures. All of us regard it as a privilege to be entrusted with the many responsibilities of a law enforcement professional. Those of us who are called upon to carry the title of police officer realize we are called upon to be the men and women of peace in a rapidly changing and frequently troubled world. Whether we are among the few who are asked to lay down our lives all at once or whether we are among the many who will give it in daily service, month by month, and year by year, we are proud to be the Coralville Police Department and to give our best in Service, Pride, and Dedication.

This code is used by:

• Coralville Police Department
  Archived 09/08/2003