Police Chief Adderley and the Citizenry

     Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley says he wants to listen to the citizenry.

    
                                                                
                                                                     Chief Chats with Citizens


 
    Adderley is in the unenviable position of finding ways to fight rising crime in an austere budget year .  And he must do it with a Police force that has about  80 Officers short, on the street, from full staffing levels reached in 2003. Though the City Administration and the new City Commission has given the Chief a full green light to staff up, years of freezing positions, disgruntled Officers leaving for other agencies,  and a less than adequate recruiting effort has left the force diminished.

     So in an unprecedented move, the Police Chief has recently turned to the citizenry for advice.

     The Chief has empanelled a group of Citizens that call themselves “The Chief’s Roundtable”.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 
                                                   the “Roundtable” in action                                    

     
     This past Tuesday was the second meeting of the group. It consists mainly of representatives of areas in the City that have escalating crime problems,. Tuesday’s group included reps from the Beach, the City’s central neighborhoods, and the southern neighborhoods that surround Federal Highway.

     The session was lively, with lots of talk of bringing back “Community Policing”  to the City, finding ways to expedite hiring of new Police Officers, and looking at newer creative techniques that are working in other cities.

     Adderley says he finds these sessions helpful, and that he’s ready to “accept good ideas, no matter where they come from”.

     If you think you can be helpful also, send me an e-mail to Tim@TimSmith.com, as I’ve been helping the Chief identify residents that want to be involved………..                  

                                                 

    



     

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