Provo City

Police Department Review


In December 2010, consultants from Citygate Associates of Sacramento, California, conducted a review of the policies and practices of the Provo Police Department.  Citygate was contracted by the City of Provo to conduct a review of the department's policies and practices related to hiring, training, and enforcement of professional standards and conduct.   The consulting team reviewed numerous documents, including personnel policies, performance evaluations, internal affairs records, training records, calls for service statistics, feedback from the community, and more. The auditors also spent three and a half days in Provo interviewing a variety of people both inside and outside the department.

The final report of this review has been released, along with the City's response to the 27 recommendations included in the report. 

In its report, Citygate identified both strengths and weaknesses of the department. Its strengths include "a strong 'esprit de corps'" and "desire to serve the community," as well as "many talented leaders and managers."

Many of its 27 recommendations for improvement relate to training. "While the Department meets, and in many instances, exceeds Utah POST training requirements," the auditors found several areas where training could improve.

Provo City concurs with each of the recommendations and is either already implementing them, or plans to implement them by specific deadlines for each.

The audit did not address staffing issues, such as whether more officers are needed, but the city hopes to conduct a staffing study in the near future.

A citizens committee has been overseeing the audit process and recently released its own response to the audit.