Collinsville Police Join National Program Designed To Support Officers, Better Protect Community

The Collinsville Police Department is joining a national law enforcement program designed to help give more support to officers and better protect the community.

Collinsville PD is now an ABLE Oklahoma Agency. This program is designed to help prevent police misconduct and support the wellbeing of officers.

"ABLE" is Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement and was created by Georgetown University.

Collinsville Police will follow a series of program standards, including training, employee wellness, and community accountability.

Police Chief Matthew Burke said mental health is a big topic in the law enforcement community. This program teaches officers how to approach another officer who may be in distress and offer help if needed to prevent issues.

"An officer doesn’t just go off and become the worst officer they’ve ever been. It starts with one step and a bad day and builds on. This is designed to have a peer recognize that on step one and help guide each other to help. So that way they never become the worst version of themselves," Burke said.

To become an ABLE Oklahoma Agency, the police department had to get community support. Collinsville Public Schools was one of the agencies who wrote a letter of support.

The department is required to update these agencies on the performance of the program and issues they may have with police misconduct.