The Ventura County Community College District Police Department has adopted the Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS) philosophy. COPPS is a policing philosophy that promotes and supports organizational strategies to address the causes of crime and to reduce the fear of crime and social disorder through problem solving tactics and community-police partnerships.

Photo of two officers at campus event

Traditional policing methods of the past have involved reactive policing, responding to crime after it has occurred. COPPS stresses the prevention of crime before it occurs and is an integral part of combating crime and improving the quality of life in our cities and on our college campuses.

The main components of COPPS include establishing partnerships with the community, problem solving, and changing police department philosophy to support and encourage patrol officers to solve crime problems on their campuses and in their patrol areas.