Board of Public Safety

The Board of Public Safety meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 9:15 a.m. on the 4th floor of the County-City Building, Council Chambers. Starting March 16, 2022, the public is invited to attend virtually or in person. The link for each meeting is posted on the current agenda and below.

Join the May 18, 2022 Board of Public Safety Regular Meeting: Click Here

The Board of Public Safety acts as the administrative agency for the South Bend Police and Fire Departments. The Board is comprised of five members and the Clerk. The Board of Public Safety has exclusive control over the following:

Adopting policies applicable to the Police and Fire Departments
Adopting general and special orders to the Police and Fire Departments
Approving the employment and training of police officers and firefighters
Swearing in of police officers and firefighters upon completion of training
Disciplinary actions for police officers and firefighters
Approving police and fire coverage to newly annexed or other areas

Board of Public Safety Members:

Daniel Jones, President
Melissa Colpitts, Member
Darryl Heller, Member
Lee Ross, Member
Alfred Kirsits, Member
Theresa Heffner, Clerk

To contact the Board of Safety directly with your questions or concerns, please email the following address: bps@southbendin.gov

Fire Discipline Matrix

The Board of Public Safety approved the Fire Department Discipline Matrix at its November 17, 2021 meeting. View the policy here: Fire Department Discipline Matrix – Approved

Use of Force Policy

The Board of Public Safety approved the revised Use of Force Policy at its June 16, 2021 meeting. View the policy here: Use of Force Policy – Approved.

Chief Ruszkowski presented additional revisions to the Draft Use of Force Policy at its May 19, 2021 meeting. View the changes to the policy here: Use of Force Policy – Tracked Changes – Presented to Board of Safety on May 19, 2021.

At the April 21, 2021 Board of Public Safety Meeting, Mayor Mueller presented an updated Draft Use of Force Policy, as requested by the Board of Public Safety at its February 2021 meeting. View the changes to the policy here: Draft Use of Force Policy – Presented to the Board of Public Safety on April 21, 2021.

An updated Draft Use of Force Policy was presented to the Board at its January 20, 2021 meeting. The updated policy incorporates public feedback and comment from the December 2020 community meeting. The changes were tracked into a pdf document, which was also shared with the Board. View the changes to the policy here: Draft Use of Force Policy – Presented to the Board of Public Safety on January 20, 2021.

Police Discipline Matrix

A new South Bend Police Department Discipline Matrix draft was received by the Board at the July 9, 2020 meeting, after public feedback was collected on another draft released in June.

Discipline Matrix (Approved Version)

Community Action Group Meetings

The South Bend Board of Public Safety held a series of seven moderated community meetings to publicly solicit input from residents on a range of law enforcement issues. The series follows a number of community meetings with the Mayor and City staff. Sessions brought together members of the Group Violence Intervention Core Group, the South Bend Police Department Roundtable, members of the Common Council, South Bend Police Department leadership, and members of the Mayor’s Office. Members of the public received information about listed subjects and had the opportunity to provide feedback during each meeting. Feedback from the meetings will be presented to the Board of Public Safety for review and possible implementation.

View the recommendations below:

Body Camera Policy
Use of Force Policy
Vehicular Pursuit Policy
Training
Recruiting

The amended Body Camera Policy (12/18/2019) is available here.

Town Hall Q&A from June 24, 2019

On June 24, 2019, the City of South Bend and the Board of Safety held a Town Hall Meeting at Washington High School. Community members submitted questions via note card during the forum. The questions were not all able to be addressed during the time allotted for the forum; however, City officials provided answers to the questions here: June 24 2019 – Town Hall Q&A