(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — Sheriff Joe Roybal announced the release of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Strategic Plan on Monday, Sept. 18 as a roadmap to the future of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO).
Sheriff Roybal said this plan helps the agency identify strategic objectives and establish necessary initiatives. It also enables agency leaders to align resources, personnel, and technology to address community needs and enhance public safety.
Sheriff Roybal has unveiled his plan for his office with what he says are four simple, yet powerful strategic pillars. The pillars serve as the compass that will shape the vision, strategy, and daily operations of the Sheriff’s Office from now until 2026.
First, Sheriff Roybal looks to increase community trust through improved communications and transparency. He plans to do this by fostering community partnerships and outreach, provide proactive internal and external communication that highlights the positive results of community coalitions, and develop strategies to lessen the occurrence and impact of social issues like fentanyl abuse, traffic fatalities, violent crime, suicide, and homelessness.
The plan also includes efforts to reduce the number of crime victims in the community. Sheriff Roybal and his team want to make data driven decisions, work collaboratively towards the model of community mental health, while maximizing the use of jail-based behavioral health programs. Roybal spoke on this initiative the day he was sworn in, Jan. 10.
“We are bringing a similar program into the jail so whenever one of our citizens are in crisis inside the facility, we have those personnel go there to hopefully de-escalate and prevent a use of force inside the jail,” Sheriff Roybal explained.
Next, the strategic plan looks to improve the quality of service provided to the community with a qualified and engaged workforce dedicated to continuous improvement. This includes recruiting and retaining high quality employees. FOX21 News spoke to Sheriff Roybal in March on these efforts.
“We are increasing our recruiting,” Sheriff Roybal said. “We are offering the POST Certified Academy, which draws a bigger candidate pool. We have seen an increase of over 100 applicants in the first posting of the Academy.”
The final pillar is to proactively support responsible legislation. EPSO will actively monitor proposed legislation and analyze for potential impacts. Sheriff Roybal provided FOX21 with the following statement on this years strategic plan.
“I am excited to share our strategic plan with the citizens of El Paso County. This plan is simple in design, yet visionary and has come to fruition through years of experience serving this community and institutional knowledge within our agency.”
Sheriff Joe Roybal, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
