GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — From true crime to dating to mental health, there's a podcast for everything and everyone, which is why the Grand Rapids Police Department created their own podcast as a new way to engage with the community.
The new podcast which launched on Sept. 24 is called "Behind the Badge," created with the intention of giving the community nitty gritty, behind the scenes access. Sgt. Dan Adams, who is the Public Information Officer for the department is the host.
"We created the podcast so people can really get to know us, the people who work for the department. People we interact with. What we do. Our operations. When we're hiring or when we have new initiatives coming out. We just really want to share that with the community," Adams said.
Conversations could also revolve around cold cases or critical incidents.
Guest speakers can include the chief of police, stakeholders or city and community leaders. People can also email the department at TrustGRPD@grcity.us for topic or guest speaker suggestions.
"We're dedicated to engaging with the community and to having open dialogue and constructive conversation, because we recognize and appreciate how the community wants to be policed," Adams said.
Adams got the idea for the podcast a few weeks ago after learning the Orlando Police Department's podcast was successful.
He hopes to do a new episode at least every other week.
You can search Grand Rapids Police Department or GRPD Behind the Badge on the app store. The first episode is already up and running and focuses on their hiring process and their Sponsorship Police Academy Class.
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