Originally Posted by DavidI View Post
How would you involve the communities?

Sponsor youth sports across the spectrum of youth athletics... Have your officers then coach teams other than those you sponsor. No badges, just your folks. Let the kids ask what the fine people who will work for you do. Give your people incentives to coach.

We currently do this at many of our stations and it has definitely opened up relationships between officers and kids, as well as their parents too.

How would you reduce crime?

I'd start with the book below and fan out from there.

The "broken window theory" is alive and well in most areas. The difficulty is with the passage of a couple of propositions by the California voters, most misdemeanors are not arrestable. In one case, we arrested a bad guy 22 times for possession of heroin, methamphetamine, stolen items, etc. and he is back on the street before the reports were written! It is very frustrating for our personnel.

How would you deal with homelessness and the issues that are created?

This is the most difficult problem, nearly unmanageable in my mind, that you will face. This is mostly a mental health issue: We are at or near full employment in this country so those that want to work can. You get to see and impact the rest.

I am assuming you will still be in SoCal so the issue is only compounded by your beautiful weather.

There is no Federal solution that has been proposed in the last 30 years, so you are going to need local political help. Being a hard ass on homeless issues is not the answer: soft enforcement (a version of the Fixing Broken Windows book) needs to be written. I can only admire your willingness to try.

We have many resources for the homeless issues, some with success, and others with very little success. We have to keep trying though.

What are your biggest concerns that a Chief can actually impact?

This is probably local to Maryland, but I f'ing can't stand LEOs that tailgate. You need to have their dash cams checked everyday for tailgating. We see your young men and women, not you, the Police Chief - make sure they reflect your values and attitude at the point of sale. Respect is earned not assumed...but you know that.

We currently don't use dashcams, but I hate tailgaiters too! Driving is always at the top of the list.

What other concerns do you have?

None. The fact that you are in a position to be considered to become a Police Chief means goodness to me. Best of luck.

Thank you!

Congratulations David! We only met the one time when you and your son came out shooting in Piru, but from the one meeting there is no question you are a great father and a stand up guy!

I think a lot of the advice given has been great so far, my only LEO experience has been putting belts, badges and gear on actors.

I guess my only advice to add would be to tell your officers to be more like "Andy" and less like "Barney"! :D

Best of luck, I know they picked the right guy for the job!

Hi DavidI, good luck with your interview for Police Chief! There are lots of great responses that I agree with. Here's just a few of my thoughts off the top of my head.


Community involvement- Personally, I believe community policing is key in getting things done with great results. I would look hosting "Coffee with A Cop" if your city doesn't have it yet. Let community residents meet with police officers and just talk informally and build a stronger relationship. People would be more inclined to share their own concerns in a more relaxed environment than a town hall. My city did Coffee with A Cop quarterly for a few years, but now it's every 1-2 months.

Community involvement is a must! I completely agree.

I'm not sure if its common for cities, but our police department shares a weekly summary of incidents with us in an effort to be more transparent. Maybe this is something that could be implemented if it currently isn't.

My Department posts weekly trends and statistics as well.

What ever happened to the D.A.R.E programs? I don't know if they are still implemented.

It has been reduced due to redeployment into the field to reduce crime.

I don't think that citizens really know that they can go along for ride-a-longs. It could be a great way to show citizens what officers really do to.. but it could also be risky in some situations, for example going on high speed pursuits, or responding to armed robbery cases. (I'm guessing officers are prohibited from taking most citizens on these calls though)

We offer a ride-along and he or she is an observing in the daily activities, including pursuits or responding to critical incidents. We prohibit them from entering private residences though.

Reducing Crime- Burglaries are still happening frequently in my neighborhood. Cops are doing what they can, but residents need to be more involved. I'd probably look into strengthening the neighborhood watch programs and have them work closer with officers? I do notice our officers proactively patrolling the neighborhoods throughout the night.

Neighborhood watches are extremely important in reducing crimes or at least prosecuting them after the fact.

Homelessness- I honestly don't know how to deal with this one. Many officers I know in a neighboring city are instructed to just drive the homeless out of their city. Late in the night they follow the homeless out to the edge of city limits and make sure they go elsewhere. This band-aid fix doesn't do anything but wastes resources.



Others- Maybe look into holding a Coffee & Cars type event sanctioned by the city? Automotive enthusiasts are being persecuted because of actions of reckless individuals (takeovers, street racers). At our event, police even show up to hang out and talk cars. We've actually had great dialogue open up, and officers aren't just pulling over every modified vehicle over anymore.

I have not considered this. This may be something to work on!
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I appreciate your insight and input. Please keep the ideas coming!

HST had the best ideas, when he ran for sherrif of Aspen.

His tentative platform set forth six points, including :



"Rip up all city streets with jackhammers" and "sod the streets at once ... All public movement would be by foot and a fleet of bicycles, maintained by the city police force."

"Change the name 'Aspen', by public referendum, to 'Fat City'. This would prevent greedheads, land-rapers and other human jackals from capitalizing on the name 'Aspen' ... These swine should be ****ed, broken, and driven across the land."

"Drug Sales must be controlled. My first act as Sheriff will be to install, on the courthouse lawn, a bastinado platform and a set of stocks in order to punish dishonest dope dealers in a proper public fashion. Each year these dealers cheat millions of people out of millions of dollars ... it will be the general philosophy of the Sheriff’s office that no drug worth taking should be sold for money."[1]

"Hunting and fishing should be forbidden to all non-residents, with the exception of those who can obtain the signed endorsement of a resident- who will then be legally responsible for any violation or abuse committed by the non-resident he has 'signed for' ... By this approach-making hundreds or even thousands of individuals personally responsible for protecting the animals, fish and birds who live here-we would create a sort of de facto game preserve, without the harsh restrictions that will necessarily be forced on us if these blood-thirsty geeks keep swarming in here each autumn to shoot everything they see."

"The Sheriff and his Deputies should never be armed in public. Every urban riot, shoot-out and blood-bath (involving guns) in recent memory has been set off by some trigger-happy cop in a fear frenzy."

"It will be the policy of the Sheriff's office savagely to harass all those engaged in any form of land-rape."[2]

haven't had time to read the whole thread but a few ideas.

I think when I was in elementary school we would have uniformed officers visit us, show us that he guys and gals in the cars with the uniform and guns are real people just like mom and dad.

Broken window also applies to graffiti, paint over it ASAP, not really a police job but a lot of times you will find volunteers and paint companies that will donate paint.

Homeless, sorry you guys get caught in this because the homeless need someplace to go and that is not your problem.

A sheriff here had a Nascar race engine in his black spider? Bragged about goin' 150....

Nuthin' wrong with that imo...

He was also a deek and is a convicted felon now....don't be like him :)

My hats off to anyone that is in this line of work.
I live in a very safe city.
All we have is mail theft, some break-ins and traffic violations. DUI stops here and there.
I've been analyzing the speed survey data for a particular high density residential street in my city.
For example the street is posted for 25MPH, the 85% speeds are very much above that, close to 40MPH for some hours. The result is when the survey time limit expires you end up with zero enforcement unless you want to raise the posted limit. I feel like the rule of law is some how slipping a bit. I guess there is a line where enforcement doesn't want to seem to be harassing.
If the residents in your city are not complaining about this then I'd say don't put a lot of focus there. In my city this is about all we can complain about.

Congratulations on the interview, wish the best for you, your family, and the community.

What you might consider are your aspirations for the future. Do you want to seek political office? Retire at a higher rank?

I only bring this up because a California chief came to Austin, Tx, left a mess behind before leaving for Houston after 10 years. He wants in the political game, and will jump in front of any camera, at any time. He's no better than any other law enforcement officer on the force. No direction but his own.

I recently moved from Austin to a smaller community where there is a high presence of law enforcement. Life is good.

Good luck!

Congrats!

Homelessness and people suffering from mental illness are a huge problem in LA. I don't know what the solution is....but as a LEO I would definitely love to hear your ideas with regard to helping addressing those problems from a leadership position.

I second this.

Sometimes police are stuck between both their bosses and their clients hating them.
That is not right.....without going into further argument.

But the community is the best free source of getting to the source of a situation.
If they feel safe they will talk.
Cops talking to many many many local people makes them feel safe.
Their information is anonymous.
Heavily armed multiple patrols (at random times) driving in the neighborhood, backing up the street beat cops, who walk around and talk to common folks, make everyone feel safe.
Cops walking around or playing hoop or doing normal human things in the open make the young next generation of kids feel safe to make their own life choices and path.
There is always a small core causing the most damage.

Can you tell us more about your jurisdiction?

As a citizen, I would have very different expectations depending on the local. Small town vs. Big... The scope of your role and ability (And scope) to make changes will be different.

Glad you asked though - speaks volumes. good luck.

Thank you!

This is a problem that has affected my own family as well. There is a difference between a homeless person with mental illness and a criminal. Being mentally ill does not make someone prone to violence or criminal activity. To me, there is a separation. Unfortunately, the two are mixed by the individual, labels of society, or the press. We have many programs that assist them with housing, clothing and food; however, there are rules at these established locations forbidding controlled substances (illegal drugs). If the individual does not abide by the rules, he or she is forced to leave. This does not solve the problem, but protects those who abide by the rules. In some cases, homeless families include young girls. These girls have been victims of some of the predators at these locations as well.

There will be three different locations (I say this because each substation contains multiple cities, both incorporated and unincorporated) and have very different demographics. One is a very large area, but the other two are smaller but more violent.

When I promote someone into a supervisory or managerial position, they seem happy. I tell them that the new position comes with a more impressive title, increased control over decision-making and higher pay. Then I tell them they may ultimately conclude this is not a 'good deal' considering the additional headaches, responsibilities, etc. They chuckle. And then they come to me after about six months and report my advice was prophetic. Being in charge of law enforcement would, it seems to me, be a HUGE PITA.

That said, I am grateful for your service and sacrifice, and I admire your consideration of possibly taking on a more responsible role.

Being a cop is an interesting choice in life if you are an intelligent guy, such as yourself. People hate bad cops but police are absolutely essential to civilization. I believe that we would get shot or raped when we walk out the door w/o them. There are a lot of really bad people out there, something that not everyone agrees w or is aware of.

I would think that the biggest challenge of running a large department would be knowing that you have employees who are not good people, (though most are for sure), and trying to get rid of them. Unions make that tough. The department you are in now has thousands of good employees but also a handful of absolutely horrible ones, as anyone who reads the paper knows. We recently had a sergeant(?) who robbed a legal weed warehouse in DTLA using his department vehicle and faking that it was a LE operation. Ballsy move, he must have watched too much, "The Shield." :rolleyes:

Add in the sex offenders and other corrupt people. If I was a good cop like the ones I know personally on this board, it would drive me crazy to work alongside people like that. And I think that cops know who is dirty, it's in their instinct. Now you will be in a position to really do something about it and the bad ones will not like you. Stand tall.

I think that mental health issue's are the basis of all lawbreakers problems and
hence their interactions with you fine folks

So my idea would be enhanced mental health education for all officers

I do think this would be an expensive long term plan but would address the core issue

Much of the problems can be traced back to SO40 but it's probably too late to do anything about that.

Today I had my interview and felt that I did my best. There are 12 of us competing for the position and I'll find out shortly who is selected. Wish me luck friends!