‘I want to be a part of that change': Community safety ambassadors will give MPD new approach to policing

You may soon see a new type of police responder on the streets of Washington, D.C.

The D.C. police department is launching a new team of crime fighters they're calling community safety ambassadors. They won't have guns or badges, but they might be the first to show up when you call 911, depending on how serious the problem is.

The hope is that the program will free up dozens of sworn officers for more serious issues.

"I'm a stakeholder in my community. I want to better my community," explained Davina Carson, one of 16 of those new community safety ambassadors currently in training at the D.C. Police Academy. "I want to be a part of that change that makes it better, and I also want to be that gap, that bridges the police to the community."

Lindsay Appiah, D.C.'s deputy mayor for public safety, says once the ambassadors hit the streets in a few weeks, they'll help with police duties like traffic and crowd control at big events, or responding to low level 911 calls like minor car crashes where a police report is needed -- but not an actual sworn officer.

"Things that we really believe that we can train civilians, right, these community safety ambassadors, to respond to so that we can really free up sworn officers for the type of policing work that our community expects and needs from them," said Appiah.

Carson has been a civilian employee for D.C. police for two years, but applied to be a safety ambassador as soon as she heard about the program.

For her, it wasn't just to be a bridge between police and her community.

"I also have a 14-year-old son. I want him to feel safe," Carson said. "When he calls the police, I want them to be able to show."

Roderick Milstead oversees the ambassador program and tells News4, once fully staffed, it will free up 46 sworn officers to be on the streets full time.

"When we get full capacity, we should have 40 CSIs, four supervisors, and 20 of these pretty patrol, or not patrol cars, 20 CSA cars patrolling the city," Milstead said.

Carson hopes the community will embrace the safety ambassadors once they hit the streets..

"I want them to know that we're here to help. We're here to make the community better and to also bridge the gap between the community and MPD, you know? And to free them up so they can be arrived on the scene in a timely manner," Carson said.

The current group of community safety ambassadors range in ages from 24 to 65, and they are still hiring.