Published: October 14, 2008 08:33 am      

External evaluation of RPD complete

An external review of the Richmond City Police Department has been completed.

“It’s an overall picture of where we have been and where we hope to go in the future,” Chief Larry Brock said.

A group of nine Kentucky Regional Community Institute assessors turned in the nearly 90-page evaluation report, which first began in January, to Brock earlier this month.

“We invited the assessment team into the department to evaluate multiple issues as they relate to the community policing,” Brock said.

“We anticipated that the study would help us gain a better understanding of how the community perceives the department and also provide us with baseline information for use by the department in developing its community-oriented policing efforts. We felt that it would be a tool to help us improve and grow in the future, but we first needed to see where we stood.”

The process of the assessors hopes to identify the current status of the department as an entity in and of itself, as well as, how the police relate to community leaders and the populace at large.

The mission of the Kentucky Regional Community Police Institute (Kentucky RCPI) at Eastern Kentucky University is to “encourage and enhance the implementation of community policing in Kentucky in order to create safer communities through training and technical assistance.”

The Kentucky RCPI is one of a network of 27 regional community policing institutes strategically located throughout the nation and funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

“Building trusting relationships within their respective communities,” is one of the major goals listed by RCPI.

The nine-member team was headed by John Mills, a retired lieutenant with the Louisville Metro Police Department. He is a graduate of the National Crime Prevention Institute, Southern Police Institute, University of Louisville and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice.

Other members of the team that assessed Richmond’s city police included:

• Tracy A. Schiller, former assistant police chief of the Shelbyville Police Department and a former major and assistant chief with the Louisville Division of Police. Schiller is a training specialist with the KRCPI at Eastern Kentucky University.

• Ed Brodt, associate director of KRPCI. He served as chief of police in Anchorage, Ky., and retired as captain from the Jefferson County Police Department. Brodt holds a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Police Administration.

• Lt. Col. Cindy Shain (Ret.) serves as co-director of the KRCPI and deputy director of the Justice & Safety Director at EKU. Shain was a founding member of the Kentucky Women’s Law Enforcement Network and holds a master’s degree in Loss Prevention and Safety and a bachelor’s degree in humanities from Bellarmine College.

• Lt. Col. Jim Griffiths served as the deputy chief of police for investigations with the Louisville Division of Police. Griffiths received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville and management training from the FBI National Academy, the Southern Police Institute, the National Crime Prevention Institute and the U.S. Secret Service.

• Roy McFadden is a retired corporate executive who served as general manager of national account sales for General Electric Co. He is a graduate of Madison Business College and did graduate work at Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

• Brian Williams is associated with the University of Georgia’s Department of Public Administration and Policy. He previously served as the assistant dean for student affairs in the School of Engineering at Vanderbilt University.

• Dr. Jeff Magers is an associate professor of the Law and Public Policy Program of the California University of Pennsylvania. Magers teaches full time in the graduate programs in law, public policy and homeland security. Magers is also a retired law enforcement officer from the Jefferson County Police Department.

• Maj. J.R. Wilkins (Ret.) served as assistant chief in charge of special operations from the Bowling Green Police Department. Wilkins is a graduate of the 110th Administrative Officers Course at the Southern Police Institute, University of Louisville and is enrolled at Western Kentucky University, majoring in sociology with a minor in criminology.

In addition to meeting with several community, civic, judicial and law enforcement groups, the assessors also conducted surveys with more than 150 citizens of Richmond with a variety of backgrounds.

“We encourage the department to make it (the report) well known and to use this as kind of a road map of things they can do and things they can put in place to create a more community-oriented atmosphere,” Brodt said.

Brock said the report will be widely circulated and looked at numerous ways in order to benefit the force.

“The report has been shared with the city commission and other city officials,” Brock said. “It has been provided to our officers for review and will be posted on our departmental Web site for the public to view.”

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