MISSION: 

• The members of the Columbia Police Department are dedicated to providing the highest quality police services in order to enhance community safety, protect life and property, and reduce crime and the fear of crime. To do this, the department and its individual members, both civilian and sworn, pledge to develop a partnership with the community, lead a community commitment to resolve problems, and strive to improve the safety and quality of life in our city by community-oriented policing.

VISION:              

• The Columbia Police Department strives to maintain the highest standards of excellence utilizing training and technology to create a safer environment for our citizens and continue as a leader in law enforcement in our community. We will continue to work together in partnership with other law enforcement agencies to provide mutual aid and assistance to those in need.

CORE VALUES:

• The Columbia Police Department will maintain crime prevention as its primary goal while vigorously pursuing those who commit crime. Making sure that our values become part of our day-to-day work life is our mandate, and they help to ensure that our personal and professional behavior can be maintained by our ethical values:

• Human Life – Above all else, we will protect and preserve human life.

• Integrity and Trust – We revere honesty, fairness, respect, and a consistent application of objective standards.

• Pride and Professionalism – We consciously and consistently demonstrate a commitment to the Peace Officer profession and civil servant. As a department, we are committed to becoming the profession’s benchmark, through constant attention to self improvement and development of optimum departmental services focused on quality performance and results.

• Community Service – We are committed to public service and the improvement of the quality of life in our community, through community partnerships and mutual accountability.

• Problem Solving – We value the utilization of a teamwork approach to facilitate individual and group creativity to accomplish substantive long-term solutions to our community’s problems.

• Employee Value – Our personnel are our most valuable resource. The police department will seek the input of its employees in matters impacting on employee job satisfaction and effectiveness and encourage individual and professional development for each employee, both sworn and civilian.