The Farmington City Council recognized that as the city continues to grow at a rapid pace, there is a need to provide the Public Safety Department with the tools and manpower to keep the community safe.
Over the past three years the city has made a strong commitment to improve the police and fire departments to better serve its citizens. Through its efforts Farmington has enabled the police department to increase training opportunities because of the manpower provided to conduct such services, and both the police and fire departments have received funding increases without additional burdens on taxpayers.
Farmington’s population has grown 14.5% since 2010, according to BestPlaces.net. The city needed to add more public safety personnel and programs to meet the needs of its growing population.
Farmington hired four additional firemen to provide for a full-time fire department of six, plus a full-time chief. The department has two firemen on duty around the clock and can rely on 25 volunteers if needed.
The commitment has lowered insurance rates for citizens based on the city’s fire rating and has increased response time for medical emergencies, accidents and fire calls.
There is also a new fire department substation in the newly constructed Public Works building. This allows the department to have fire vehicles at a different location which can increase response time when volunteers are needed to respond to a call.
The mission of the Farmington Police Department is to work in a true partnership with fellow citizens of the city to enhance the quality of life. To fulfill its mission the department has also had to keep up with the city’s population growth.
The police department staff has been increased by six officers over the past three years. The department is now at 18 full-time officers, including the chief of police. With the city’s growth, the additional personnel have allowed the department to improve response time and have at least two additional officers on shift 365 days a year.
Farmington has also added a second school resource officer.
The police department provides alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate (ALICE) training to both the Farmington school and other area schools that are in need of this training, as well as assisting other police departments. ALICE training is also provided to local businesses.
ALICE training empowers individuals to participate in their own survival using proactive response strategies in the face of violence. The program is designed to ensure that anybody can employ its strategies, no matter their age or sex.
Individuals do not have to be law enforcement personnel or military trained to survive violent encounters.
Stop the Bleed training on tourniquet application is also conducted by the police department.
The city has built a separate building for the department to house evidence, ammunition and vehicle accessories safely and securely.
Farmington has made a $500,000 commitment to add on to the existing city building to expand police operations and provide space for a department of its size. The project was expected to bid in late 2019 and be completed by early 2020.
Farmington is proud of what it has been able to accomplish in the areas of public safety and the long-term value to citizens will be evident with improved safety and response.
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