About an hour's drive North of Wilmington, Sheriffs, police chiefs, and officers gathered from local counties to showcase equipment. Most of that gear was labeled with WPD’s branding. WPD Police Chief Donny Williams addressed the issue.
“The Wilmington Police Department was fortunate enough to have great equipment, great funding, great grant opportunities. But we realize having all that nice equipment does you no good if you do not have people. And that's where our partner agencies come in," he said.
Cape Fear Regional Special Teams is a local partnership officials hope will help address that. This week, the group welcomed Whiteville, Boiling Spring Lakes, and Duplin County to the partnership, which now serves five counties in the region. The point is to share resources and most importantly, personnel with one another.
The idea started with talks between Pender and the City of Wilmington to share SWAT gear and teams — and the partnership has expanded over the past year. While response times remain a top-of-mind issue, the partnership ensures effective communication and backup.
Whiteville Police Chief Douglas Ipock reinforced the importance of joining.
"We're a small department. So what Chief [Williams] has set up here, extremely benefits us because when we need those resources that we otherwise couldn't afford, we can reach out and pull them in for our system," he said.
Each special team is made up of officers and deputies from different agencies, at no extra cost to the taxpayer.
