Thursday, December 7, 2023
Mayor Brett P. Smiley will today join Colonel Oscar L. Perez, Jr. for the Providence Police Department’s Annual Commendation Awards Ceremony honoring award recipients from 2020 and 2021.
“Our officers work hard to ensure we address the biggest issues of our community, our neighborhoods are safe and that our residents know we are here first and foremost to serve them,” said Mayor Brett P. Smiley. “I am honored to join Colonel Perez in recognizing the individuals that have gone above and beyond to fulfill this mission and thanking them for their service.”
Awards to be presented include the Mayor’s and Chief’s Awards as well as Outside Agency, Fraternal Order of Police (F.O.P), City Council Awards and others. The prestigious Rhea Archambault Award will also be presented, which represents the best overall performance by an individual police officer or officers for a particular calendar year. The Archambault Award is given to the most outstanding police officer(s) of the Providence Police Department, selected by their peers as being most worthy of this distinction.
“Every day I am incredibly proud to lead the Providence Police Department, but the exemplary work of these individuals makes me confident that we are on the path forward to making Providence a national example of excellent policing,” said Colonel Oscar L. Perez.
“Congratulations to the police officers being recognized tonight for their extraordinary service,” said City Council President Rachel Miller (Ward 13). “Policing is challenging work, and every member of the City Council wants officers to know their efforts do not go unnoticed. Thank you for your dedication, bravery, and commitment to making Providence safer for us all.”
Improving public safety is a top concern for Providence residents. In the Community Satisfaction Survey taken earlier this year, Providence residents and businesses indicated there’s work to do to make them feel safer in their neighborhoods. That’s why earlier this year, Mayor Smiley and Colonel Perez worked to prioritize budget investments that expand the capacity of the Providence Police force and utilize federal grant funding to train officers on the latest techniques.