Partnerships for Problem Solving (PPS) is the Metropolitan Police Department’s effort to train police officers, community volunteers, and agency representatives throughout the District of Columbia in the methods and tools for neighborhood problem solving. Training all the partners together—a fundamental aspect of Partnerships for Problem Solving—helps build cooperation and collaboration from the start of the initiative.
The goals of the PPS project are to:
- Train police, community, and agency representatives in problem solving city-wide
- Organize at least one active problem-solving group in each PSA that includes community volunteers, police officers, and agency representatives
- Develop PSA action plans collaboratively to address neighborhood crime and disorder problems
The PPS project is developed and coordinated by the Community Partnership Section of the Office of Organizational Development of the Metropolitan Police Department. The mission of this section is to advance collaborative problem-solving partnerships among community stakeholders, police officers, and other agency representatives through the development of curricula and training materials, delivering training city-wide, and replicating community policing successes.
Collaborative problem solving is a process that requires active and engaged participation of all the stakeholders in a neighborhood. Working together in a five-step problem-solving process, the partners target a problem, understand the problem, create a plan, take action and review progress, and celebrate and create a lasting community presence.
Click here to learn how to initiate the five-step problem-solving process.
If you would like to get involved, fill out the on-line volunteer application.
