DAVENPORT-- The Davenport Police Department is now working directly with the United States Department of Justice to combat gun violence in the city.
Davenport was one of ten police departments in the country chosen to participate in a national initiative called the Public Safety Partnership.
Davenport now has a designated DOJ liaison assigned to work with the police department over the next three years. That expert will look at how Davenport handles gun crimes. And then they'll make the police department a specific plan, suggesting different resources, training and strategies.
"The idea isn't to form a violent crimes strategy that is the same as another place in the nation. It's customizing it for us here in Davenport, here in the Quad Cities," says Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski.
Davenport was chosen through an application process. Chief Sikorski thinks the city was picked because they had an unusually violent year for crime back in 2017.
