DANVILLE, Va. – Danville Police Chief Scott Booth was honored Monday for innovative police practices that have improved the quality of life in Danville.

Booth was named the 2020 recipient of Radford University’s Center for Police Practice, Policy and Research Excellence in Policing award. The award is handed out annually to a current sworn police officer, supervisor, commander or executive who is a leader in his or her agency and has been a champion for implementing innovative strategies that bring about change and improve policing.

In presenting the award, Radford faculty member Dr. Roberto Santos recognized Booth for his leadership and his ability to create change in the police organization, along with his efforts to reduce crime through community engagement.

Santos, co-director of the center and associate professor of criminal justice at Radford University, called Booth a leader in embracing evidence-based strategies and creating change in a police organization to institutionalize these practices while partnering with the community at the same time.

“When I first came here, I saw there was so much potential in the city, and specifically in that (police) department,” Booth said when accepting the award. “… It was a community that was hungry for community policing and a better way to do things. I had the support of City leadership, which wanted things to get better and told me on day one that ‘we want this to be a premier place to live, work and play, and we want you to help us to get there.’”

Booth said the department also was “hungry to get better.”

“It was a professional department, and it was open to new ideas and new ways of doing things,” Booth said. “We’ve done some really good things, and we have a lot more as a city and an organization that we are going to do together.”

Rachel Santos, co-director of the center and professor of criminal justice at Radford University, said the center holds Booth and the Police Department as examples for other police departments in Virginia and the nation.

The Center for Police Practice, Policy and Research gives this award once a year to a current sworn police officer, supervisor, commander, or executive who is a leader in their agency and has been a champion for the implementation of innovative strategies that bring about change and improve policing.