DATE: Tuesday, July 29, 1997                TAG: 9707290283

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  138 lines

CITIZENS TO HELP PORTSMOUTH PICK CHIEF

When asked to help solve Portsmouth's crime problem, citizens answered the call.

The result: The city's rate of violent crime dropped 29 percent in 1996, the first time in 13 years it didn't rise. The incidence of overall crime dropped 4 percent.

Now, City Manager Ronald W. Massie says it's only fitting that citizens play a role in the search for Portsmouth's new police chief.

Although Massie will make the final decision, a citizens panel has been formed to help interview and evaluate top candidates.

``I think it's kind of unusual,'' Massie said of his decision to bring the public into the search for a law enforcement leader.

But, he said, ``the spirit of it is that a police chief is many things and has to work with a lot of people. And we're so far into this community policing and it's working so well that I felt like it was a logical extension of what we have done in the neighborhoods.''

The panel to select a new police chief is one of many instances where the city is increasingly using citizen input to make decisions.

Residents are participating on task forces and committees to improve everything from bulk refuse collection and golf courses to the city's Vision 2005 economic plan.

City spokesman Kenneth Wheeler said such involvement is a growing trend nationwide in how cities do business.

``I think interestingly enough . . . several years ago, Portsmouth was behind the curve,'' he said. ``Now I think Portsmouth has moved very rapidly in this area and is in the forefront.''

Massie said he looked for ethnic, gender and geographic balance in coming up with four people who would join Deputy City Manager C.W. ``Luke'' McCoy and Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock on the panel.

The four are Reggie Allen, a Prentis Park neighborhood patrol coordinator; Anne Green, a longtime crime prevention volunteer; J. Robert Gray, former vice mayor and city councilman who is now head of the Cradock Property Owners Association; and Francesca Dillard-Moore, program services director at the HER (Help and Emergency Response) Shelter.

McCoy and Bullock were chosen because both will work closely with the new police chief.

The panel will interview about 10 potential chiefs selected from a larger field of candidates provided by Mercer & Associates, an Atlanta-based firm that conducts national searches for municipal positions. In-house candidates also will be considered.

Massie said he wants the citizens panel to come up with the two or three strongest candidates and to provide him with their opinions on each candidate's strengths and weaknesses.

Even before that part of the process, Massie plans to use panel members and others to draw a profile of what the city is looking for in a new crime-fighting chief.

Massie said he expects the new chief to be named by the first of the year, adding that he believes the police department is in good hands for now with interim Police Chief John K. Tucker.

``It always takes longer when you do things this way,'' he said. ``On the other hand I think the result will be superior . . . results that indicate the wisdom and the involvement of citizens.''

Citizen involvement also will help in the difficult job of replacing the former police chief, Dennis A. Mook, who enjoyed widespread popularity and support for his innovative programs. Two months ago, Mook left to run the police department in Newport News, which also used a panel consisting of some citizens as part of its selection process.

Mayor James W. Holley III said that given the success of Mook's community policing program, NEAT (Neighborhood Enhancement and Action Teams), it is in the ``city's best interest to try to get some continuity.''

Holley said he believes the city already is ahead in the search due to the national recognition Mook's leadership and community support brought to Portsmouth. That recognition, he said, will bring quality law enforcement candidates to the city.

``In other words, if we were down to zero, if we hadn't shown any initiative that we could improve ourselves or the community at large, I don't think very many people would be interested in coming here,'' Holley said.

Holley called Massie's use of a citizen panel ``extremely democratic.''

Massie said he expects the four panel members to speak to others in their neighborhoods and get input.

``My hope is that it's going to be a very open process,'' he said, adding that confidentiality will become necessary once the process gets down to the evaluation of individuals.

Panel member Green says she already has a good idea what her neighbors and others in the city are looking for in a police chief - and she says she's grateful the city manager wants to hear about it.

``I think it's a really good idea to involve the citizens,'' she said. ``You see crime sometimes at a different level.''

Green says she knows people want someone who will continue the community policing program that allowed them better access to police officers with whom they could build a relationship.

Allen, coordinator of one of Portsmouth's most active neighborhood patrols, agrees.

He would like to see a new police chief continue the Citizens' Police Academy, too. But No. 1 for Allen is making sure the community policing program continues.

He credits the program with bringing people from various neighborhoods closer to each other, as well as to the police department and City Hall.

``If we've got something that's working, why destroy that and start with something that's new?'' Allen said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

City Manager Ronald W. Massie says Portsmouth increasingly is

soliciting citizen opinions before making some key decisions.

Graphic with photos

CITIZEN PANEL MEMBERS

These Portsmouth residents have been named to the citizen panel

that will help select the city's next police chief:

Reggie Allen, longtime president of the Brighton-Prentis Park

Civic League and, for the past five years, coordinator of a

neighborhood patrol that regularly watches over Brighton, Prentis

Park, Prentis Place and the Lee Ward area. Allen says he wants to

see community policing programs continue.

Anne Green, a Port Norfolk resident, longtime crime prevention

volunteer and co-chairwoman of Portsmouth's crime summit planning

committee for three consecutive years. Green says she wants a police

chief who is a proponent of community policing and who will be able

to work with city management and the police department as well as

citizens.

J. Robert Gray, former vice mayor and city councilman and

longtime president of the Cradock Property Owners Association. Gray

says he wants someone with a successful record who is comfortable

dealing with citizens, city management and the police department,

which does ``a fantastic job with the resources available.''

Francesca Dillard-Moore, program services director of the HER

(Help and Emergency Response) Shelter for battered women and

children. Dillard-Moore wants the community policing program

continued, would like to see more police officers on the street and

is interested in the formation of a domestic violence unit in the

department.

Also on the panel are Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock and

Deputy City Manager C.W. ``Luke'' McCoy. City Manager Ron Massie

will explain the search process to the panel Thursday morning at its

first meeting.

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