RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — After just a few months as Richmond’s Chief of Police it’s clear. Alfred Durham is going to be high profile.
“I bring new some ideas, new concepts and some new energy,” Durham explained. “And I’m out there. Folks see me everywhere.”
Since Durham succeeded interim Chief Ray Tarasovic, community policing is more popular than ever: He’s walking precincts regularly with command staff, officers and the media, hosting popular forums called “Police and Peeps.” And, in a controversial move to make every officer more visible, he ordered the force to keep a single blue light ablaze on marked police cars.
“When people start trusting you they’re the ones picking up the phone — giving you tips — telling you what’s going on in the community — and that’s half the battle for us,” he explained.
But trust in police officers is being undermined from coast to coast by high-profile allegations of abuse and assault, and in South Carolina and Baltimore, even murder. Are things in Richmond different?
“Coming here I inherited a jewel of a department and a jewel of a community,” he exclaimed.
Chief Durham hopes to keep things that way by holding Richmond officers to the high standards. First, ordering every officer to undergo training on being fair and impartial.
“We all have biases — but you don’t bring your biases to work. You leave them at the door before you come in,” he said. “We don’t racially profile. We profile criminal behavior.”
He’s also excited to see officers testing body cameras starting July 1.
“When you put the body-worn camera on our officers it changes both the behavior of the officers and the persons they’re going to encounter,” he said. “I will not tolerate people abusing folks civil rights. We’re going to treat people with dignity and respect. We’re here to serve.”
Together, these policies become an elegant equation.
“I believe accountability leads to transparency, which leads to legitimacy, and then credibility in the community we serve,” he explained.
Durham isn’t fighting a crime wave — he’s fighting to keep things going in the right direction, to find a new equilibrium in which citizens see police as an ally not an enemy.
“Crime is down. But if you’ve been a victim of crime, that means nothing….perception is reality,” he stated.
So, expect to see more of Richmond’s top cop on the streets. And if you meet him, ask for his card.
“I pass my business card out to everybody. And guess what? My cell phone is on my business card. This is the people’s phone. It’s their cell phone. I want then to get in touch with me. Because if you call me I’ll pass that information along and we’ll have one less bad person on the streets of Richmond.”
