Charles in Charge

Editor’s Note: The Times recently met with Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey for his insights on crime issues, revamping the police department and the challenges of his five months on the job. The two-part series concludes in today’s editions.

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

In last week’s installment of the Northeast Times’ interview with Charles H. Ramsey, the city’s police commissioner called for stronger gun laws, endorsed Mayor Michael Nutter’s "stop-and-frisk" program to combat illegal weapons, revealed why he overhauled the department’s command structure and explained that he views patrol as the most important function of police.
In today’s conclusion of the two-part series, Ramsey discusses remapping police districts, increasing the department’s funding, combating the "stop snitching" mentality, violence against officers, proposed waterfront casinos and the impact of his anti-crime plan on Northeast Philly.
Northeast Times: Do you plan to redraw the police department’s longstanding divisional, district and sector maps?
Charles Ramsey: Yes. We have far too many sectors. We have some districts with twenty sectors. And you can’t staff those sectors like that. We need geographical areas that make sense. We need to deploy our resources in those areas based on workload as well as other factors that may not show up in data. For the most part, you want to take a look at calls for service, response times (and) violent crime versus property crime.
NT: The 15th district in the lower Northeast has the highest 911 call volume in the city. Will you reduce that district?
CR: Fifteen may be too large. We need to look at fifteen. We need to look at several of the districts to see whether or not we need to merge the districts, shrink some of them, redraw boundaries here and there, because you get shifts in population, shifts in crime patterns. That’s like step two or three. Step one was the initial reorganization of the department, putting the boxes where they need to be. Step two is putting the right people in the right spots. Step three is looking at some of these other issues, which we will be doing.
NT: In your crimefighting plan, you cited the need for more police, better police facilities and better technology and equipment. How do you expect to pay for all of that?
CR: The mayor has agreed to hire 200 additional police (in fiscal 2009). We just completed a recruiting campaign with a test being given on May 31. And for the first time, we were able to recruit people from outside the city. They’ll have to move into the city if they get hired, but in the meantime, 40 percent of the applicants were actually from outside. That’s very good in a lot of ways. It enhances our recruitment base and it can bring new residents who are city workers, which actually builds your middle class. That’s a very important thing for any city.
NT: Former Mayor John Street used lots of police overtime in his Safe Streets program to position more cops in selected high-crime areas. How effective is police overtime in reducing crime?
CR: (Overtime) is a short-term solution. The real solution is having adequate personnel based on the crime issues that you have to deal with in the city. And the second part is how you deploy the resources that you already have, making sure people are working on the days of the week and the times of day when you need them the most. Then (if there’s) anything left over, you worry about overtime. But it starts with hiring and deployment.
NT: What about the facilities problem and other expensive improvements?
CR: We’ve got some facilities that are in terrible shape, absolutely terrible. It’s an embarrassment. For the city to have allowed the facilities to deteriorate to this extent, there’s just no excuse for it. So now we find ourselves in a position where very large sums of money are needed just to bring our facilities up to minimal-type standards. When you look at it on a citywide basis, the police department alone needs tens of millions of dollars to fix up its facilities. . . . There’s been a request to (the state agency overseeing the city’s finances) for more money. It’s a little early to say whether there is or isn’t. I believe we will get some more, how much I don’t know. But there is a lot of money that’s needed.
NT: A "stop snitching" mentality — the unwillingness of some civilians or neighborhoods to cooperate with police — has risen to prominence in recent years. How does it affect crimefighting and how do you overcome it?
CR: It’s unfortunate, and it’s not just in Philadelphia. This is something that’s prevalent in many if not all major cities. I think that people have to realize if they want to make a lasting impact on a neighborhood, they have to get involved. We have to work together as partners. It’s in everyone’s best interests, not just the police, but the public especially. It’s rare that you have a crime committed and no one knows who did it. Someone out there knows. The challenge is getting that individual to talk to you to provide information. And it’s unfortunate when you’ve got some high-profile people like in the music industry who reinforce that to young people. I think that’s irresponsible for them to do. I can’t say enough about how that negatively impacts communities. I think what we have to do is work very hard as a department and as law enforcement to gain the trust of people so they feel comfortable talking to us. And we have to earn that trust and respect.
NT: Civilians aren’t the only ones affected by street violence. Police and their families fall victim to it too. How does violence against police impact your ability to attract capable new recruits?
CR: Policing is a dangerous profession. There’s no doubt about that. It always has been. But I don’t know what impact if any it has on people applying. The people applying do have to understand the fact that it is a profession that at times can be hazardous. No one can guarantee them that they’ll go through an entire career and never have a problem or get hurt in any way. But there are more than enough men and women willing to take that risk and perform that service to others. That’s the incredible thing about it, and the thing that I’m proud to be a part of, because no matter what, it seems like people are willing to take that risk, that chance.
NT: What do you say to officers who may be concerned about their own personal safety, particularly those asked to patrol alone? Would they be more hesitant to respond to crimes they see?
CR: Probably so. That’s on the individual officer. Some are more aggressive than others. I don’t want any of them taking a chance where they could jeopardize themselves unnecessarily. If backup is needed, call for backup and wait for that backup before you take any kind of action. But that’s not to say that one-person cars aren’t effective. A lot of our calls are just for someone taking reports, maybe writing traffic citations, handling minor disturbance calls that don’t require two people. There are things that make a one-person car effective. But I also believe that with a two-person car, you’re going to get more activity usually than a one.
NT: Have the police been consulted on the two proposed Delaware River waterfront casinos? How will they impact public safety?
CR: I’ve only been here for (five) months, so I don’t know what went on prior. I do know that there’s been some discussion about security, and we will definitely need additional police officers. We’ll need a facility to house them. We were looking at an "entertainment zone" or district that we would create to deal with that so we don’t have to pull (cops) from other districts. Because it is going to have a drain on manpower. There’s no question about that.
NT: How about traffic congestion and the potential for casino-related crime?
CR: I imagine traffic control is going to be an essential part of the flow in and out. To what extent that impact is going to be relating to the casinos, I don’t know . . . I’ve never worked in a jurisdiction with casinos. There are issues that Atlantic City had that are pretty well-documented, and (with) some of the riverboat gambling that has taken place in some parts of the country. Some of the money generated that people thought was going back didn’t necessarily (go back) at all. It didn’t have the economic stimulus that some people thought. But I don’t know what the long-term thing is going to be here.
NT: In your anti-crime plan, you committed virtually all of your manpower increases to nine high-crime districts in the city, including the 15th district in the Northeast. Will the city’s other 14 districts get more cops?
CR: That’s where the majority of our overtime went. That’s where a lot of our specialized units went to add to patrol. It’s not that we’re ignoring the fourteen districts outside the nine, but we had to start somewhere. And when you look at the nine districts that were chosen and their crime numbers, you know, we had to do something. . . . Crime is not equal (everywhere), so staffing can’t be equal. You’ve got to put your cops on the dots, as they say, put them where they’re needed the most and pay attention to displacement (of crime). But the goal is not to take from one to give to another. We did not take one police officer from another district to put into those nine. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com