Latest / Inside West Palm Beach / A Conversation with Chief Of Police Tony Araujo

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A Conversation with Chief Of Police Tony Araujo · Inside West Palm Beach

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  Welcome to Inside West Palm Beach. I'm
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  Gerry Marcelo. A fast-growing city like
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  West Palm faces many challenges, not the
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  least of which is keeping up with the
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  demands of a diverse and expanding
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  population. City government must be ready
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  to change with short notice, and
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  department leaders must be on their toes
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  to keep their respective teams up to
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  date. Today we'll talk with a leader that
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  knows all about dealing with change and
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  how his department is positioning itself
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  in the future. That's next.
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  And joining us today is Tony Arahu, Chief
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  of Police for the
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  City of West Palm Beach.
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  Chief, welcome to the show. Thank you for
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  being here. My
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  pleasure. There's no way to
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  tell the story of West Palm Beach Police
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  Department, where we've been, where we're
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  going, without having a sense of where
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  you've been. Tell us a little bit about
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  how you got involved in police
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  enforcement. What
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  brought you back to West Palm?
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  Well, it's a long story. I'm an immigrant
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  to this country. We
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  fled Cuba, communism, in
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  1962. We landed in Los Angeles, thanks to
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  Catholic Charities. Lived in the inner
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  city till age 16. After one too many
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  earthquakes, we moved down to Florida in
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  1974-5. My dad would tell me the story
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  that when I was five years old, I would
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  tell him I wanted to be a policeman. So
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  we migrated to Florida, went to high
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  school here in the City of West Palm,
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  grew up first on Greenwood, then on 45th
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  Street. Mom and dad are resting at the
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  cemetery on
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  Greenwood. I have a lot of ties
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  to the city, both family, friends, and
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  acquaintances I made through the years.
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  After high school, it might sound as a
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  canned statement, but
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  I felt an obligation
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  to serve this great country that took us
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  in. I am an American, so I joined the
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  United States Marine Corps. I went off
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  into the Marine Corps, and I served four
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  years. They tried to keep me in, but I
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  said my goal is to be a police officer.
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  This is that stepping stone. We came back
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  to South Florida. Interesting story.
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  I applied to some local agencies. The two
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  primary agencies was West Palm Beach
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  and the sheriff's office, PBSO. As you
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  know, they send their recruits generally
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  to the same academy. So what happens? I
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  get a call in the morning from PBSO,
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  and I'm a 22 year old kid, and they say,
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  Hey, we're offering you a job. Will you
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  take it? Well, you know, one in a hand is
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  better than one in the bush. So I took
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  that afternoon. I believe it was any of
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  the lieutenant or Captain McClure
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  from the West Palm Beach Police
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  Department called me and offered me a
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  job. I said, What have I already accepted
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  one with PBSO? And he says, Well,
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  we pay more. I said, I know you do. But I
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  gave them my word. So I started at
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  the sheriff's office March 2nd of 1982. I
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  went to the academy. I worked a
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  variety of assignments. I
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  spent almost 43 years there,
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  uh, rose to the rank of Colonel. I had
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  some great mentors and coaches along
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  the way, one of them being our Sheriff
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  Sheriff Bradshaw, who used to be the
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  police chief here in the city of West
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  Palm Beach for a long time. Uh, so I
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  retired there. Uh, I
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  think it was March of
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  2024. And here I am now in West Palm
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  Beach. As far as my, uh, I went to
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  I didn't have my college degree. Uh, the
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  sheriff's office, like we do here in
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  the city of West Palm Beach afforded me
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  that opportunity by providing the
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  monies for me to go to school. Uh, and
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  I've been trained like other officers
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  that have my tenure and thousands of
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  hours of training schools. I was
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  privileged to go to the summer session at
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  the School of Government and Harvard.
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  Uh, that was provided to me again by the
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  sheriff's office investing in your
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  middle managers that are rising and
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  prepare them for greater responsibility.
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  So I did all that as my wife, who was
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  really my heroine, raising three
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  Children. We got married very young at 18
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  and being the sale behind the, uh,
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  I'm sorry, the wind behind the sails and
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  my career when I call it when you're
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  chasing the badge, your young police
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  officer and you're trying to create
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  opportunity for yourself going here,
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  going there. And she was always and
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  still is my biggest cheerleader and as
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  she should be my biggest critic. Well,
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  it's obvious that you're tied to family
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  and your value in family is very,
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  very strong in you. And that's that
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  obviously is part of the reason why you
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  wanted to get into law enforcement.
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  That's correct. And we, uh, we lived in
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  a lot of people say I'm from Los Angeles,
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  but they're from Santa Monica,
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  Redondo Beach. I grew up in the city. Uh,
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  and I know what strong parenting affords
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  it affords you the greater possibilities
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  that you're not going to join a gang or
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  that you're not going to be involved in
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  mischief. And I was blessed to have two
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  great parents that mommy, as I called it,
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  was not afraid to use the chancleta,
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  which is the slipper. And then when dad
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  got home, if I had to get it twice, I
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  so that parenting was very important.
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  When you made the decision to as a
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  young as a young lad to, you know, chase
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  law enforcement, was it every your plan
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  to be a law enforcement officer right
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  here in South Florida? Or would you
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  have just gone anywhere? That's a good
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  question. When I cycled out, I was
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  stationed in K. Bay and they cycled us
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  out in Camp Pendleton. And there were
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  recruiters at Camp Pendleton in
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  California from LAPD and several
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  departments, and I wanted to work at
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  LAPD. So we stayed for a short bit with
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  my aunt who lives in Glendale, which is
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  Los Angeles County. But my wife being a
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  grew up on a farm in western New York and
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  then moving here to Florida. She
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  couldn't assimilate and acclimate to that
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  big city environment. So dad sent
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  me the old by way of mail paper
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  applications. I applied them and then we
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  came in transit to South Florida. So you
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  spent a lot of time here in South
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  Florida and in West Palm Beach
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  specifically. Is there a period of time
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  and era of the city that's that's your
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  favorite? Do you like it when it was a
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  smaller community or how do you or is it
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  cool place now? You know, every season
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  has its it's good and it's not so good.
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  I'm very proud of what the city affords.
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  It's its residents and visitors. You
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  know, I happen to live in the village of
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  Roa Palm Beach. I did live in the city.
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  But at its time back then I grew
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  accustomed to living in an environment
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  that was only three television channels.
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  You know, I came from LA where you had at
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  that time maybe 20. Yeah. So a different
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  environment that we became accustomed to
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  it. We enjoyed it. We liked it. The city
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  was growing. It's still growing.
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  Absolutely. You can't
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  stop progress. It's how you
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  and carry it out that counts. And I think
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  the city and the county and the
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  area of governance in this region has
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  done a very good job handling growth.
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  Yeah. So what does that mean to me as a
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  resident? I want to live here after I
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  retire. That says it all right there. You
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  speak about growth. We've talked about
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  growth here. Growth seemed to have gone
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  full throttle at the time of COVID at
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  the time that we passed through COVID and
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  the growth really jumped forward
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  post that. The city is growing at an
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  exponential rate. Do you feel that the
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  police department is doing the same? Yes.
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  My forte is in strategic planning. When I
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  arrived here I took a look at the major
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  hubs of the police department where we
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  were at and projecting forward as the
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  chief of police. A lot of folks know this
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  would do what I do for a living. You know
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  I have to deal with the present but
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  you've got commensurate well-trained
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  subordinate staff. I've got to deal more
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  with the strategic view for the over the
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  horizon and long-term. So we did that
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  very early. The mayor was gracious enough
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  to allow me to also bring a consultant
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  and that I'd used before to bring some
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  fresh eyes so it minimized the blind
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  spots that might have a different
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  perspective. And we arrived at the same
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  conclusions and I presented a plan to the
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  mayor and the commission and they
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  I believe the count was 27 new police
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  officers and a professional staff. The
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  first prong of getting where we need to
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  be but that doesn't say that we're not
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  where we should be now. We are. I can
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  tell you we're very robust in the city
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  with technology. Technology is a forced
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  multiplier. You work smartly and you
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  put your resources where you really need
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  them. And because of the good work
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  of the officers and middle managers, the
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  line supervisors, the staff we have at
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  this police department, we've
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  accomplished a lot. But projecting
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  forward there is a plan, the incremental
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  plan and again you work with your
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  governance and project that plan forward
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  so you're ready when the bell rings. One
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  of the things that have been said about
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  you when you arrived on the scene is a
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  strong desire to reach out to the
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  community to get feedback from the
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  community to talk to folks. Tell us a
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  little bit about that. Why is it
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  important to you and do you feel that
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  you've been effective talking to folks
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  here in the city? Well that's a have to.
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  It's not a want to. Especially the
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  lead of agency and it's something you
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  have to model so then the folks that are
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  doing the work do that also. You know I
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  use the term ugly baby. If the baby is
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  ugly, whether it's factual or a
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  perception, then I have to know about it.
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  And I'm gonna get that first hand from
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  citizens because if it's ugly I don't
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  want to hear from it you know around the
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  corner or somebody with me. Give me your
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  perspective on police service. And I've
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  been to dozens if not hundreds of
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  meetings since I've been here I think 21
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  months because I like to hear it
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  firsthand and I can honestly tell you and
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  I'm not window dressing or posing
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  anything because that's not the way I
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  operate. I have really not gotten any
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  major complaints about the service we're
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  providing. Do we get folks that
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  rightfully so complain about traffic,
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  about the homeless issue, about other
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  aspects of their perception of public
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  safety, usually in the realm of quality
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  of life, right? Which there are things
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  that we can do about that, okay? But we
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  can't arrest our way out of some of those
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  quality of life issues. So when you
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  give the citizens the understanding of
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  what can and can't be done, what should
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  and shouldn't be done, they'll work with
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  you instead of against you. So that's
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  that's been my experience thus far. Has
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  there been any conversations you had
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  with residents that you found
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  particularly frustrating? Anything that
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  really stood out as wow I wish I could
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  fix this or? You know
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  I've chewed a lot of
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  police dirt you know for 45 years now so
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  I've heard just about everything and
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  and I always try to put myself and
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  whether it's the citizen no matter in
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  their shoes what do they see? You know
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  and somebody you know the city is
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  changing. Yeah it is. You know houses
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  that once upon a time were looked at as
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  you know tear it down are not worth
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  whatever. The investment citizens are
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  making to move here and current citizens
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  that remained remodeled rebuilt. Yeah.
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  Right? So their expectations of what
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  public safety should be is very high it
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  should be. But anything surprising
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  anything really that no no and again
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  working with them I have an advisory
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  board you know they seek out information
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  the community beyond all the other
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  avenues that we have also our community
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  engagement team. If you have those comms
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  built if they understand that you're
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  you're not going to make up a story
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  you're gonna tell them the truth
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  especially when difficult times come and
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  there's a time I can speak to the
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  community because if a bad thing happens
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  you know everybody has you know rights
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  police officers or whatever a lapse in
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  service those things happen we're human
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  but at the appropriate time you
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  communicate that then the community will
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  trust you and that's what we tried to do.
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  When say someone has would like to talk
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  to a representative of the police
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  department whether it be you or a member
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  of your staff about some issue or
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  something that they're concerned about
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  what's the best way for them to reach out
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  just call the police department or is
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  there website? Well if it's an emergency
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  oh yeah okay 9-1-1 if it's not an
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  emergency they can call our complaint
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  tests but if they want to reach out I
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  mean they can go on our website there's a
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  ton of emails there yeah but if it's a
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  community issue or whatnot they could
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  even send me an email and I'll make sure
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  it gets to the appropriate person and and
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  I'm glad to report that because our
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  community engagement is so robust they
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  give out their emails so really I'll
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  tell you in complete honesty that the the
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  request that come to me because I
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  have an email and the phone calls are
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  really minimal so that tells me that our
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  folks are doing what they should and
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  engaging and they're out there with the
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  community. That's fantastic one of the
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  things that's it's clear as time goes by
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  a department whether it is in public
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  safety or another city department will
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  often take parts of imbibe the quality of
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  its leader they start acting in the
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  same mindset as the folks who are calling
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  the shots and setting strategy
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  and creating policy how has the police
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  department changed since you've been the
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  leader? I like to use the word evolve and
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  I'm not trying to play word games here
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  right because you have to you know
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  constantly gauge things and change not
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  for the sake of change change that it's
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  real and explain the why to your
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  officers if you don't give them the why
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  then sometimes I'll look at it as window
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  dressing and posturing I can tell you
• 13:59:12
  when I got here functioning police
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  department there's some things we needed
• 13:59:16
  to work on of course I've been a change
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  agent my role at the former agency was
• 13:59:22
  being a change agent that's not for the
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  faint at heart the lazy or the regimented
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  and thought and before you
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  you affect or influence or direct change
• 13:59:36
  you have to make sure you have to see
• 13:59:37
  what's working I call it the 90-day pause
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  see how the operations working and
• 13:59:42
  I gauge everything on best practice or
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  it's not you know and again I'm not
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  faulting any agency that you know we're
• 13:59:49
  gonna be the best at this we're gonna do
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  this yeah we're gonna do that and I said
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  this in public form and I have much
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  for the the police chiefs and our sheriff
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  here they do incredible things
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  but the way I do things we all have shiny
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  stuff on the wall okay you should
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  show that off yeah but what are you doing
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  right now and what are you doing
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  to prepare for the over-horrising in the
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  future to maintain a level of
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  consistency to professional service and I
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  like to keep it simple everybody at
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  the West Palm Beach Police Department
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  whether they're our professional staff
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  or the chief everybody in between shields
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  we wake up every morning to do
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  four things and that's provide timely
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  credible value German professional
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  service what does that mean I've been
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  asked that question the community's
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  probably heard it from me timely doesn't
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  mean you're spinning blue lights and
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  everything's a code 3-run what sense of
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  priority are we placing on what we're
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  doing right now tomorrow is it a priority
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  or not because if everything the
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  priority is a priority nothing is right
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  and we have to operate based on that
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  priority a 911 call takes greater
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  priority than a mundane you know public
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  service call that public service call is
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  just as important to that citizen as that
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  911 call how do you create that balance
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  so timeliness is important but it
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  doesn't say you have to go code 3 to
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  everything you have to explain what
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  timeliness means to the community and
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  sometimes when they wait give them the
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  explanation why credibility you earn it
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  every day you build a career on it you
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  build a reputation as a police department
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  and either you have it or
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  you don't and you can lose it in the New
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  York second that's right value-driven
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  value does not equate to cheap what's the
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  value for every dollar of investment
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  that we make in our public safety model
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  here in West Palm Beach but let's talk
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  the police department what's that
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  investment giving us what's it leading
• 14:01:52
  us to and are we investing today to
• 14:01:55
  prepare ourselves over the horizon and
• 14:01:57
  for the long run that's part of what I
• 14:01:59
  have to do as the chief in my senior
• 14:02:01
  executive corps because if we don't do
• 14:02:02
  that will be a shiny object for a while
• 14:02:05
  then things happen so that value and you
• 14:02:09
  have to explain that the citizens I pay
• 14:02:11
  taxes to I have a very sharp pencil and
• 14:02:15
  anything that we are going to do at the
• 14:02:17
  police department I'm glad to report that
• 14:02:19
  the command staff not that they
• 14:02:21
  didn't have it before but they certainly
• 14:02:23
  have it there what's the value and what's
• 14:02:26
  the value in it to provide service to our
• 14:02:29
  citizens that's what we look at and
• 14:02:31
  then professionalism professional bar
• 14:02:35
  yeah do we have it or do we not and then
• 14:02:39
  we have things in place to our
• 14:02:41
  professional standards internal
• 14:02:43
  inspections not not to gig people but to
• 14:02:47
  ensure that we are at best practice and
• 14:02:49
  if we're not we readily identify it and
• 14:02:52
  then we take the measures immediately to
• 14:02:54
  get us back on back best practice so it
• 14:02:57
  sounds like a lot but it's really simple
• 14:02:59
  mm-hmm timely credible value-driven
• 14:03:01
  professional service and then giving all
• 14:03:04
  staff including professional staff police
• 14:03:07
  officers junior employee senior
• 14:03:10
  employee the confidence to venture out
• 14:03:13
  give you discretionary effort and they
• 14:03:15
  will they will if you give them the
• 14:03:18
  confidence to make reasonable mistakes
• 14:03:21
  so if you're not on top you know if all
• 14:03:23
  you have is hammer time yeah okay people
• 14:03:26
  will do what they have to discretionary
• 14:03:27
  effort goes out the window right and and
• 14:03:30
  how do you do that as the chief you do
• 14:03:32
  that by by training by mentoring your
• 14:03:35
  your line supervisors the critical piece
• 14:03:38
  of the equation you know that I can be
• 14:03:39
  gone a month nobody misses me you miss a
• 14:03:42
  line supervisor or that watch commander
• 14:03:44
  that middle manager problems occur so
• 14:03:47
  again it's it's it sounds complicated but
• 14:03:52
  it's not you keep it simple let's talk a
• 14:03:55
  little bit about credibility important
• 14:03:58
  part of the part of the story to of what
• 14:04:01
  you described here something to a
• 14:04:04
  certain degree credibility among law
• 14:04:07
  enforcement maybe it's have suffered a
• 14:04:08
  little bit on a national level over over
• 14:04:11
  the past few years what is your feeling
• 14:04:15
  what how do we remedy that what is what
• 14:04:17
  are the steps necessary to make sure
• 14:04:20
  that the residents feel comfortable and
• 14:04:22
  confident that you are on their side well
• 14:04:27
  engage engage your police department
• 14:04:30
  there's a public meeting or whatnot you
• 14:04:32
  know be that person that challenges the
• 14:04:34
  process be that person for lack of a
• 14:04:37
  better you know challenges is not afraid
• 14:04:40
  to speak truth to power if they see a
• 14:04:42
  police department is not their their ally
• 14:04:45
  but you know they're they're
• 14:04:46
  powerful they can do this they can do
• 14:04:48
  that because people perceive things that
• 14:04:51
  aren't so and we live in an environment
• 14:04:52
  today we're this is the problem right
• 14:04:58
  right and again I'm not knocking social
• 14:05:00
  media I'm not knocking what's reported
• 14:05:01
  some of it but if you don't vet the
• 14:05:04
  information you're getting then you're
• 14:05:05
  not well informed and and the truth is
• 14:05:08
  that over the last 10 or 15 years but
• 14:05:11
  let's look at recent history law
• 14:05:13
  enforcement nationally has done some
• 14:05:14
  things that may be certainly were not
• 14:05:17
  appropriate there are police officers
• 14:05:19
  that have gone to jail there are police
• 14:05:21
  officers that are going to go to jail in
• 14:05:23
  the future that's why making sure you
• 14:05:25
  train you model the way you you you're
• 14:05:29
  principled let alone ethical you have to
• 14:05:32
  have principled ethics right and instill
• 14:05:35
  that in your rank and file and then have
• 14:05:36
  those things those remedies in place to
• 14:05:39
  prevent that from happening but when it
• 14:05:41
  does you do what has to be done you know
• 14:05:44
  I hear and again I'm not being
• 14:05:46
  dismissive I've heard the term
• 14:05:47
  constitutional policing for the last five
• 14:05:49
  or six years of you I started March
• 14:05:52
  2nd of 1982 I started constitutional
• 14:05:56
  policing then and I'm still doing it now
• 14:05:59
  and what I would ask the community that
• 14:06:02
  on the misdeeds of a few of a few don't
• 14:06:08
  call us out on out on it we and when we
• 14:06:10
  go through these periods you know and
• 14:06:12
  I've seen three or four paradigm shifts
• 14:06:14
  in my 45 years almost of policing we
• 14:06:17
  usually come out the better for right and
• 14:06:22
  and what does that mean I mean now
• 14:06:23
  we we train even more than we used to on
• 14:06:26
  tactical pauses you know holding back
• 14:06:30
  having other possibilities that we and so
• 14:06:34
  we usually come out of the better but
• 14:06:36
  yeah yeah a lot to digest there you made
• 14:06:39
  a point of saying that one of that
• 14:06:41
  you're trained in strategic planning
• 14:06:43
  looking ahead making plans not just for
• 14:06:46
  today but what the department may look
• 14:06:48
  like five years from now to that end
• 14:06:52
  where are we going and what steps do we
• 14:06:53
  need to take to get to that goal well
• 14:06:56
  some of the things we've already done I
• 14:06:58
  mean the city I can tell you the police
• 14:07:00
  department very well postured with
• 14:07:02
  technology we brought in a gentleman
• 14:07:06
  that has an expertise in that that
• 14:07:08
  happened to have retired from a federal
• 14:07:10
  agency and we were very we were fortunate
• 14:07:13
  to get him so what we've done
• 14:07:15
  internally has done a technology suite
• 14:07:18
  and it's just not germane the West Palm
• 14:07:20
  Beach but the every department should do
• 14:07:21
  this periodically and we found
• 14:07:23
  technologies that we really weren't using
• 14:07:25
  anymore so we took them off the
• 14:07:27
  table and then look at the technologies
• 14:07:29
  that we have how could we enhance them
• 14:07:32
  did we need to look at other vendors or
• 14:07:34
  whatnot so his name is Paul Allen and
• 14:07:38
  I've been working on this job for the
• 14:07:39
  last almost year and three months of just
• 14:07:42
  vetting everything and then moving
• 14:07:44
  towards that that technology so that's
• 14:07:47
  and I say this because in today's world
• 14:07:50
  well vetted and when I mean vetted
• 14:07:53
  technology that's out there that the
• 14:07:54
  courts have examined yeah right that can
• 14:07:58
  be used and how it can be used right so
• 14:08:01
  we don't violate anybody civil rights
• 14:08:03
  important and sometimes technology if you
• 14:08:05
  jump right in at the beginning you
• 14:08:08
  know you might might wait a little bit to
• 14:08:10
  see how the courts react that that's
• 14:08:11
  called that value thing I speak to all
• 14:08:13
  right but that strategic plan is looking
• 14:08:16
  at all the variables I mean just just for
• 14:08:18
  instance depending on the schedule
• 14:08:20
  that you work for the act for the the
• 14:08:24
  average community depending on their
• 14:08:25
  schedule but the eleven and a half
• 14:08:26
  twelve-hour schedule and you round up
• 14:08:28
  for the citizens to see one more patrol
• 14:08:31
  officer on the street 24-7 because
• 14:08:34
  remember they had days off training
• 14:08:36
  vacation unfortunately they get hurt and
• 14:08:39
  all that it it takes almost six officers
• 14:08:44
  so if I wanted to add five officers to
• 14:08:46
  patrol on a 24-7 basis do the math okay
• 14:08:51
  there's value in that but it's not cheap
• 14:08:53
  so strategic planning what do I look at I
• 14:08:56
  get out in the community I mean I've
• 14:08:57
  sat down with the Nora district very
• 14:08:59
  early when I got here I'm sitting down
• 14:09:01
  with the folks in the north end of the
• 14:09:03
  city I forget the name of that community
• 14:09:04
  the Vrijvavich folks yeah and talk to
• 14:09:08
  them you know see what they're pulling
• 14:09:09
  what they're what their configuration is
• 14:09:12
  going to be the things that we ask them
• 14:09:13
  is tie in with us technology wise link up
• 14:09:17
  with Paul Allen see what we have in
• 14:09:19
  common that we can use of the force
• 14:09:20
  multiplier because you just can't put an
• 14:09:23
  officer at every problem the old cop on
• 14:09:25
  every block it doesn't work that way
• 14:09:28
  using our technology and also our
• 14:09:31
  intelligence our intelligence led
• 14:09:33
  policing right cause and effect and all
• 14:09:35
  that stuff so when I look at strategic
• 14:09:37
  planning right on what our staffing is
• 14:09:40
  going to look like what is training
• 14:09:42
  going to look like what are those four
• 14:09:44
  four multipliers that we can use so when
• 14:09:47
  I go to the governance and I say you know
• 14:09:50
  I am requesting these many officers
• 14:09:52
  this is what they're going to do and this
• 14:09:54
  is the why but not only for our
• 14:09:57
  governance but that our citizens
• 14:09:58
  understand the value we're just not
• 14:10:01
  throwing human resource at a problem
• 14:10:05
  we're taking a full 360 look at it
• 14:10:08
  because again today's technology if used
• 14:10:10
  correctly you know why has crime gone
• 14:10:14
  down there are many factors I humbly
• 14:10:15
  believe technology has helped us
• 14:10:18
  tremendously how can residents be part of
• 14:10:22
  the solution how can they be a
• 14:10:24
  resource for you in making our community
• 14:10:27
  safe well let me give you for instance
• 14:10:29
  since we since we got here and again I'm
• 14:10:31
  when I say what what we've done it's not
• 14:10:34
  looking backwards and being dismissive
• 14:10:36
  about everything that was done I want to
• 14:10:38
  make that clear I'm not doing a
• 14:10:40
  comparison things evolve things change
• 14:10:42
  and sometimes you have the desired
• 14:10:44
  positive effect so when we got here we
• 14:10:47
  went ahead and looked up at our patrol
• 14:10:49
  management it wasn't where I wanted it
• 14:10:51
  to be all right and again not that I
• 14:10:53
  invented these things I it's best
• 14:10:55
  practice engaging the community you know
• 14:10:58
  if you see something say something
• 14:11:01
  engage you don't have to figure it out
• 14:11:04
  you know we're the ones that are trained
• 14:11:06
  if it's nothing it's nothing but if you
• 14:11:09
  send something call us we'll decipher
• 14:11:12
  we'll treat everybody equitably
• 14:11:15
  constitutional policing sometimes it's
• 14:11:17
  something sometimes it's something and
• 14:11:19
  somebody didn't call and then something
• 14:11:21
  very bad happens right so that's what we
• 14:11:23
  try to communicate with them our patrol
• 14:11:25
  management the outstanding work our
• 14:11:28
  officers have done the line supervisors
• 14:11:30
  our middle managers everybody really
• 14:11:32
  communications we have lowered our 911
• 14:11:35
  response time on tier one calls by 31
• 14:11:38
  seconds that might not sound as a big
• 14:11:41
  number but it's huge it's huge and how
• 14:11:44
  did we do it by using that sharp pencil
• 14:11:47
  by reassigning our kind of the way we
• 14:11:51
  deploy all right back a little bit of
• 14:11:53
  old-school and our calls for service have
• 14:11:57
  gone up I think the number is well
• 14:11:59
  over 7,000 so that the messaging not
• 14:12:02
  window dressing that we're given the
• 14:12:03
  community if you see something say
• 14:12:06
  something deploying our officers in the
• 14:12:08
  same districts every day it's important
• 14:12:11
  that if in beat 7 we have this group of
• 14:12:15
  officers working and say you live in beat
• 14:12:17
  7 they might see a car that
• 14:12:19
  shouldn't be there not a hunch because we
• 14:12:22
  have to react on probability and
• 14:12:23
  reasonableness but if you're if you're
• 14:12:26
  not in that community consistently you're
• 14:12:29
  not going to recognize those cues right
• 14:12:32
  and then it builds familiarity yeah so so
• 14:12:36
  you need folks to become active you need
• 14:12:38
  to be part of part of what's going
• 14:12:40
  on be part of the team but I'm but I can
• 14:12:42
  tell you that they're very active they
• 14:12:44
  already are I mean I go to all these
• 14:12:46
  associations I've been to Pleasant City
• 14:12:48
  I've been the you know Flamingo I've been
• 14:12:51
  points north-south east-west
• 14:12:52
  Ibis you know and I was says what are you
• 14:12:55
  doing here I say I'm here to talk to
• 14:12:56
  you I'm your chief so again it's not one
• 14:13:00
  area because sometimes citizens say well
• 14:13:02
  you know they're they're paying special
• 14:13:04
  attention to this community and they're
• 14:13:06
  avoiding ours that's not the case that's
• 14:13:09
  not the case another myth is that
• 14:13:11
  some communities don't want to see the
• 14:13:12
  police that is a huge myth all our
• 14:13:15
  communities want to see the police and
• 14:13:17
  have a relationship with us the only
• 14:13:18
  ones that don't want to see us are those
• 14:13:21
  that are involved in criminal conduct
• 14:13:23
  right right but no I'm very pleased to
• 14:13:26
  say that our community here is very
• 14:13:29
  engaged that's great very good speaking
• 14:13:32
  of our community and having an
• 14:13:33
  opportunity to reach out to them what I
• 14:13:35
  always like to do is to turn the mic
• 14:13:37
  over to you if you have if you have a
• 14:13:39
  message or one thing or something you'd
• 14:13:41
  like to share with the general population
• 14:13:44
  folks here about West Palm
• 14:13:45
  Beach in West Palm Beach about what you
• 14:13:47
  do what would it be what I do let's
• 14:13:52
  start with that when I'm trying to do I'm
• 14:13:54
  you know I'm not I'm actually say
• 14:13:57
  that my wife doesn't like to speak about
• 14:14:00
  her age you know I'm 66 gonna turn
• 14:14:03
  67 we have a certain amount of shelf life
• 14:14:07
  I'm not projecting I'm leaving
• 14:14:08
  today or tomorrow but what I'm trying to
• 14:14:10
  do strategically for the moment over
• 14:14:12
  the horizon is build a foundation so that
• 14:14:15
  next chief has something to work
• 14:14:17
  with if you have a strategic plan and I
• 14:14:20
  say this with the utmost respect to our
• 14:14:22
  governance but it lays something out
• 14:14:24
  where that new chief doesn't have to go
• 14:14:26
  do it all over again explain the why and
• 14:14:29
  those things change and evolve that
• 14:14:31
  it's a living breathing document
• 14:14:32
  technology growth all types of stuff
• 14:14:35
  right but as far as what I would tell the
• 14:14:38
  community this is your police
• 14:14:40
  department this is your police department
• 14:14:44
  engage with us listen to us we will
• 14:14:47
  certainly listen to you and and when
• 14:14:49
  those difficult moments come right what
• 14:14:52
  I've discovered is if you have that
• 14:14:53
  bridge already built you're gonna meet
• 14:14:55
  at the middle and at the appropriate time
• 14:14:57
  because again there's legalities I
• 14:14:59
  have to deal with you know let the
• 14:15:01
  community know what you're doing
• 14:15:02
  especially if a bad thing has happened
• 14:15:05
  because what happens and you might
• 14:15:07
  agree with me no matter what we do
• 14:15:08
  whether your disciplines policing what
• 14:15:10
  you do your credibility the easy parts
• 14:15:15
  when everything's going well it's when
• 14:15:18
  everything's going south are your yeses
• 14:15:19
  yeses your nose knows you minimize the
• 14:15:21
  maybes and you explain yourself when it's
• 14:15:24
  appropriate so what I can tell the
• 14:15:27
  this is your police department it is
• 14:15:28
  yours have a voice the voices are loud
• 14:15:32
  out there I really appreciate that and
• 14:15:35
  again if I've said it before at community
• 14:15:37
  meetings and they they tease me a little
• 14:15:39
  bit if there's an ugly baby if you think
• 14:15:42
  that the service level in your community
• 14:15:43
  is not where it should be maybe it's not
• 14:15:46
  you know let us know so we can do better
• 14:15:49
  chief everyone last question for you
• 14:15:51
  imagine that you are a young boy again
• 14:15:54
  living in West Palm Beach would you
• 14:15:57
  still decide to become a law enforcement
• 14:15:59
  officer yes yes and and if I
• 14:16:03
  can add something to do that we are
• 14:16:05
  recruiting nationwide but we are
• 14:16:08
  recruiting in our backyard and putting
• 14:16:11
  kids to the Academy one thing we've done
• 14:16:13
  I'm so glad you asked that question
• 14:16:15
  because it just prompted me we started
• 14:16:17
  the Explorer program okay we just won
• 14:16:20
  some competitions that's great these are
• 14:16:24
  like a scouting program from all points
• 14:16:26
  in our community and and not all of them
• 14:16:29
  are gonna end up being police officers
• 14:16:31
  but the discipline they learn the wise
• 14:16:33
  all those things and and really bringing
• 14:16:36
  police officers within our it's like a
• 14:16:39
  farm club and baseball and see these kids
• 14:16:42
  like at the other place I work where
• 14:16:44
  you see a kid that you knew when he or
• 14:16:45
  she was 12 and now to the 30 years old
• 14:16:48
  with eight years on the job and they're
• 14:16:50
  doing a great job with their community
• 14:16:52
  that's what we have now in West Palm
• 14:16:54
  Beach fantastic chief thank you for your
• 14:16:57
  time today it was a great look into both
• 14:17:00
  your your doctrine and philosophy and
• 14:17:04
  the philosophy of the of the police
• 14:17:05
  department and we really appreciate
• 14:17:07
  everything you do and I thank you but but
• 14:17:10
  I say this in all candor and honesty
• 14:17:11
  the credit goes to those doing work and
• 14:17:14
  thank you for joining us inside West
• 14:17:16
  Palm Beach is a product of the city's
• 14:17:18
  communications department I'm Jerry
• 14:17:20
  Marcelo we'll see you soon