Mission Statement

The principal mission of the City of Middletown Police Department is to serve the community by protecting life and property; by preventing crime; by enforcing laws; and by maintaining order for all citizens. It is essential for all members to remember that in the execution of our duties, we act not for ourselves, but for the good of the public; we respect and protect the rights of all citizens and perform our duties with honesty, zeal, courage, discretion, fidelity, and sound judgment.

Central to our mission are the values that guide our work and decisions and help us to do a tribute to the quality of life in Middletown. Our values are characteristics or qualities of worth and they are non-negotiable. Although we may need to balance them, we will never ignore them for the sake of expediency or personal preference. We hold our values constantly before us to teach and remind us and the community of our ideals. They are the foundation upon which our policies, goals, and operations are built.

In fulfilling our mission, we need the support of citizens, elected representatives, government officials, and the criminal justice system in order to provide the quality of service our values commit us to provide.

Core Values

As we work toward our principle mission on a daily basis, our primary core values set forth the foundation by which our decisions and actions are based and by which our organization is guided.

Human Life

We value human life as our most precious resource. In all aspects of our operations, we place our highest priority on the protection of life. This belief is manifested in two ways. First, the allocation of resources and the response to demands for service must give top priority to those situations, which threaten life. Second, even though society authorizes the police to use deadly force, the use of such force must not only be justified under law, but must be consistent with the philosophy of rational and humane social control.

Public Trust 

We value the public's trust. Citizens, having given up their right to enforce their rights, have invested in their police, their highest level of trust. We, in turn, entered into a contractual agreement with society to uphold that trust. We recognize expectations that we are competent; will abide by Constitution and law; will not abuse our power and will not use our offices for personal or private gain. The manner in which we treat our citizens, our conduct, and our actions, both individually and collectively are based upon the high value we place on the public's trust.

Integrity

We value our integrity. We understand that each of us represents not only our Department but also the law enforcement profession and government. We are committed to upholding our positions of trust by maintaining the highest ethical standards and demonstrated practices and policies forged by consideration of morally relevant reasons. We acknowledge and accept that our individual conduct, both on and off duty, must be beyond reproach. Our conduct is the same, even when no one is watching.

Professionalism

We value professionalism. We are committed to professionalism in all aspects of our operations. Our role is to serve our citizens. We acknowledge that as a professional organization, we must police ourselves. We, therefore, subscribe and agree to maintain a system to promote the highest level of discipline among our members.