Charlottetown city council plans to implement virtually all of the recommendations contained in a report on the city's police department.

Mayor Clifford Lee said changes for the police department will come in the next six months. (CBC)

The independent review was released Wednesday morning and was critical of the police on several fronts.

It says the community has little confidence in the department and that time is running out to restore trust.

Mayor Clifford Lee, police Chief Paul Smith, and police committee chair Rob Lantz told a news conference Wednesday the report is being taken seriously. Lee said the majority of the recommendations will be implemented within six months.

"It's been endorsed by city council," he said.

"The recommendations will be engaged over the next short while and I think you'll see that in the future that the level of policing will continue to increase."

The changes announced Wednesday include a reorganization of the chain of command, complete reorganization of the traffic unit, a new deputy chief position, more training for officers, more opportunity for community feedback and a new downtown storefront operation.

Representatives of the police union were also at the news conference.

They said morale was low in the force, but union members hope the changes will improve it.

"We've recognized that there's some problems. There's some things we are moving forward with, the recommendations are there, the recommendations we support wholeheartedly," said Smith.

Police officers will get more training, and more opportunity to take on different duties.

In order to connect better with the community, shifts will be changed so officers will be on visible patrol throughout the city, 24 hours a day. Communication with city council will also be improved, with the chief and two deputy chiefs required to report to the police committee on a regular basis.

The public will also be involved, through surveys and a mayor's task force.