On Friday, August 14, Sheriff Troy D. Berry and members of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office will join community activists and members of the NAACP for a workshop on “Building Relationships of Trust—Community Policing.”

The training is taught by Dr. Melanye Smith, a retired commander of the Metropolitan Police Department with more than 20 years’ experience and a contributing faculty member at Ashford and Walden Universities. “The program is geared towards moving each participant from their starting position along an ideological continuum by generating dialogue to enhance understanding and meaning and to create a shared vision,” according to Dr. Smith’s biography.

“Dr. Smith has put together a program that engages officers and citizens in conversation about perceptions and realities, split-second decision-making and building trust within communities. We are a proactive agency and this type of training will no doubt serve our agency and community well,” said Sheriff Berry.

Training will be held at the Waldorf Jaycees Community Center, 3090 Crain Highway, Waldorf,  and will commence at 8:30 a.m. and end at 12 noon. Members of the media are invited to attend. Sheriff Berry and other participants will be available for interviews afterwards. For more information, contact Diane Richardson, Media Relations, at (301) 609-6557 or email richardsond@ccso.us.

Charles County Crime Solvers offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest or indictment of a person responsible for a crime in Charles County. Anyone with information about an unsolved crime or the location of a fugitive may contact Charles County Crime Solvers by calling 1-866-411-TIPS, texting CHARLES + the tip to CRIMES (274637) or submitting tips online at tipsubmit.com. All individuals who provide tips through Crime Solvers will remain anonymous. Learn more at the CCSO’s website.

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office is a full-service law enforcement agency comprised of more than 600 police, corrections and civilian personnel responsible for protecting more than 150,000 residents. The CCSO was accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) in 2001 has been designated as a CALEA Gold Standard of Excellence agency since 2011. Established in 1658, the CCSO is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the United States. For more information, visit www.ccso.us.      

Media Contact
Diane Richardson
301-609-6557
richardsond@ccso.us