Published: October 14, 2008 08:31 am      

Report reflects positive changes

A group of outside assessors who evaluated the city police department in late January has released its findings, which include a substantial amount of praise for the direction in which the agency is headed.

“Citizens tend to describe an ethical and honest department that appears to be improving since the ‘new chief’ assumed command,” the report from the Kentucky Regional Community Police Institute (KRCPI) reads. “Agency employees were extremely confident that the new chief would insist on a well-run, ethical department and they believe ‘things were getting better.’”

The group, which released a near 90-page document this month, assessed the RPD via interviews, access to files and documents and citizen, civic and community reports.

Larry Brock, who at the time of the assessment had been chief for seven months, was singled out by the nine-person committee in its report.

“He (Brock) grew up in Richmond and is thought by most of the people interviewed as a ‘local boy,’ which appears to give him credibility,” the report said. “Brock appears to be well-liked and respected within the community by the large majority of individuals external to the agency who were interviewed.”

The report goes on to say that several elected officials interviewed said Brock was “articulate,” “a scholar,” “educated” and “experienced.”

Community members told the team Brock was “a caring type of person.”

“He wants police to be friendly, because he’s friendly,” one community member is reported to have said.

Other feedback concerning Brock stated persons interviewed noted a change in the professionalism of the police department since Brock’s hiring.

“He is a man of integrity who will not be bullied by the political system,” the report reads.

Other than the chief, the most recognizable member of the force to those randomly interview were Maj. Mitch Brown and Sgt. Willard Reardon, who was described as an “everyman” who “does a good job.”

One problem that some in the community spoke of was the lack of recognition of many officers on the force.

“I know their faces, not their names,” one community member said.

Another resident in the minority community said they did not know who patrols their neighborhood anymore and that the officers are “not friendly.”

“One minority community member remarked that years ago, officers used to walk in the minority neighborhoods and people knew them personally,” the report reads. “He bemoaned the fact that this activity was not currently happening.”

Besides being present in the community, other comments included ideas about current trends in officer integrity.

“They believe morale of the ‘good officers’ has improved with arrival of Brock,” the report reads. “They also expressed that some of the poorer performers ‘have already left.’”

While most who were interviewed thought they had an “ethical” police department, the report also said it would take time to heal past wounds of what they thought was poor performance.

“Bad things get stuck in people’s minds,” one community member said in reference to a well-publicized (but not specified) incident in a minority neighborhood.

One officer of the department states that “in the past” some police officers “were close to corrupt,” according to the report.

Agency employees appeared “confident” that “most” officers maintain good ethical standards, despite a small number of officers “who think and act like these are the old days,” the report said.

Recommendations by KRCPI include establishment of specific beats for officers to hold on a regular basis and more public networking.

“The agency could create a neighborhood assignment for agency personnel,” the group recommended. “Explore ways to divide the city into small geographic areas that consider neighborhood boundaries.”

“Establish a citizen’s tip line or information line,” was another recommendation. “This strategy will greatly enhance the agency’s opportunities to gather information from outside sources.”

“We suggest modifying the Web site so that all citizens can easily obtain information about crime in their neighborhoods,” the group said. “Crime mapping, where citizens can see their street, types of crimes and location of crimes would be very helpful.”

Brock, who recently received the report, said he is enthusiastic about encompassing the ideas.

“We are in the process of establishing a focus group consisting of police officers and members of the community to review the report and make suggestions and recommendations on how we can implement some of the ideas provided to us by RCPI,” Brock said. “This is the first step in having joint ventures with the community to improve our relationship and communication. We are very excited about this prospect and hope the community shares our enthusiasm.”

Heather Harris can be reached at hharris@richmondregister.com or by phone at 624-6694 or 893-2341.