COPPS Unit

The Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS) Unit’s mission is to support Patrol operations and the larger Escondido community by focusing our problem-solving efforts on areas experiencing persistent crime and disorder.

The Unit is comprised of a lieutenant, a sergeant, police and community service officers, and a PERT clinician. Four of the Unit’s police officers are assigned sectors within the city where they address crime and disorder through environmental transformation supported by order maintenance policing. One police officer exclusively works alongside the PERT clinician to proactively contact unsheltered people struggling with severe and persistent mental illness and substance use disorders. They focus the majority of their efforts specifically on those who are at the greatest risk of being a danger to themselves or others in the community. The police officer and the PERT clinician work to find the appropriate resource for each person, which may include outpatient or residential treatment, hospitalization, or incarceration. They collaborate with a wide variety of community partners to meet people’s needs at the lowest level of care possible while maintaining safety for the individual and the community.