Van Police Support State Mandate

By Donna Limberger

The Van Police Department supports the 77

"Our police officers work under a departmental policy that is consistent with all state and federal laws," said Van Police Chief Kelly Smith.

"The policy includes provisions for citizens to contact us if they have a conflict with a Van police officer," said Smith.

Smith said that the department realizes that there will be disagreements from time to time with individuals that come in contact with officers.

"We realize that confusion, different perceptions or possibly the timeliness of information could result in information that may produce different accounts of the same incident," said Smith.

"These disagreements between citizens and officers need to be addressed. We trust that the vast majority of contacts between our citizens and our officers are conducted in a positive, professional manner," said Smith.

Smith said that the relationship between the community and Van officers is based on confidence and trust.

"We cannot be effective without both the community and our officers working together to achieve this goal," said Smith.

Smith said citizens feeling that they have a legitimate concern may make a formal complaint to the Van Police Department at any time by contacting any member of the department for information on the complaint process. Additional information about this process may be obtained by calling 903-963-5222.

Smith said that the department would also like to know about positive police contacts as well. This can be done by writing Smith a letter or note and mailing it to: Van Police Department, 189 S. Maple St., Van, Texas 75790 ATTEN: Chief Smith.

"I will let the officer know about the letter and a copy will be placed in the officer’s personnel folder," said Smith.

"We are very proud of the relationship the Van Police Department shares with the community. Our longstanding goal is to provide our citizens with a safe community where all may live without the fear of crime," said Smith.