As Birmingham searches for new police chief community policing should be priority

As published on al.com

The Birmingham Police Department recently sponsored a program for Black History Month honoring three pioneers in policing. They interviewed three former police chiefs: Johnnie Johnson, the second black officer hired in 1966 who rose through the ranks to become Birmingham’s first black police chief in 1998; Annetta Nunn, hired in 1980 who became Birmingham’s first black female chief from 2003-2007; and Betty Gamble, Birmingham’s first black female police officer hired in 1972, who later became police chief of Fairfield.

When all three entered policing, they did so at a time when the turmoil of the civil rights movement had created an even greater bridge to gap between police and communities; civil rights leaders had been calling for decades for the police force to live in and represent all of the communities they served; and leaders understood that part of successfully fighting crime and creating safe neighborhoods meant police had to partner with their communities.

Though much progress has been made, the Birmingham Police Department is in transition. Police Chief Patrick Smith, appointed in 2018 after years under Chief A.C. Roper, known for his tough on crime approach, recently resigned. Scott Thurmond, a captain and 23-year veteran of the force, is the acting chief. Deciding the next police chief and whether that person is a community policing advocate will be of vital importance to the city’s future and health as it faces the daunting issues of gun violence, drugs, and poverty.

During the recent Birmingham Police Department program, the three trailblazers discussed their experiences fighting both the internal battles of racism and sexism within the department and the external battle of crime on the streets. They also discussed the importance of community policing. Chief Annetta Nunn, who dreamed of being a police officer precisely because she witnessed the mistreatment and abuse of police towards her neighbors, says community policing isn’t a program, but it’s a way of life. “Community policing is a lifestyle. You can’t fake it. It won’t work,” she says.

Chief Johnson agrees. “I was a community officer long before there was name for it,” he says. Yes, money to create outreach programs is necessary, but as a practice, it’s a philosophy that the police chief embodies and expects from his or her entire force. “My bio said I managed 1,100 people,” Johnson says. “But you lead people and manage procedures.”

Times were such early in Johnson’s career that when Johnson was working vice and making an arrest at a shot house, the people he arrested were both surprised and happy to see him despite being caught. The flip side, though, Gamble remembers was also a sense that the black officers had betrayed their community. As always, officers balance a fine line of protecting and connecting to the community and enforcing the law.

Community policing has been around since the 19th century but gained traction during the 1980s. While it still seeks to control and prevent crime, it’s a shift in how police view the community. Prevention, problem-solving, and partnership are its key tenets to establish mutual trust and respect during a time when more people than not distrust officers. In the past, community policing meant officers patrolled in the neighborhoods on foot. Today it has evolved to include departments sharing information on social media to keep neighborhoods up to date. It still relies on foot patrols but also emphasizes neighborhood watches, police accountability, transparency, and a decentralization of police authority.

If officers are practitioners of community policing, regardless of whether they have worked in a particular neighborhood or not, when an issue arises, a relationship has been established between the community and the police. What happens next on the call is tempered with what residents and officers already know of each other, the bond and trust already created Johnson says.

When a home is broken into and the police arrive, the neighbors who may have just seen an officer mistreating someone won’t help solve the crime. Johnson is emphatic that citizens can not only see the police arresting people.

As a practical part of an officer’s daily life, he or she can’t be so overloaded with calls that the officer can’t take time to know the neighborhood. Officers must be able to stop and have a conversation with someone or sit with a senior citizen on her porch. This relationship makes a difference. These same people will call you and give you information when problems occur Gamble says. With the current increase in calls, escalating gun violence, and the number of officers retiring, nurturing that relationship with citizens is an even greater challenge.

Many people believe community policing sounds too simple; it sounds like being soft on crime. But Johnson says it’s not just kissing babies, but a total involvement in the community. “It comes down to the question, how do we treat people?” he says.

What we’re missing today is what exists at the heart of community policing Johnson believes. “Today I see officers in their cars looking at their phone. They don’t see the kids waving. You can’t ride that train like that,” Johnson says. “People simply want to be acknowledged.”

When Johnson joined the force, drugs and weapons hadn’t flooded our cities, and now some crimes he dealt with like robbing phone booths almost seem quaint during a time police implement geofencing to catch criminals. With an increase in gun violence and murder rates escalating at an alarming rate in Birmingham, it’s more important now than ever to foster a greater trust between communities and law enforcement.

Alabama has one of the highest rates of gun homicides and violence in the nation according to Everytown for Gun Safety. An al.com analysis of homicides in Birmingham found that the city had the second highest rate of homicides per capita behind St. Louis, Missouri. In 2019, 1,000 Alabamians died by gun deaths The Education Fund to Stop Gun Violence calculated. The murder rate increased 5% in 2021 and 2020 marked the deadliest year since 1995. And yet, several gun rights bills have been filed in the legislature this session and the bill to remove the requirement to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon has just passed the House and Senate, despite opposition from law enforcement.

The current problems facing our communities require more than just policing can offer—churches and families must get involved, our gun worshipping culture needs to be re-examined— but one of the most important aspects in helping create solutions to the cascade of social ills is community policing. Today as Birmingham Police Department chooses new leadership and faces the daunting task of policing communities grappling with crippling violence and poverty, it’s important for the Birmingham Police Department to embrace community policing, or Johnson says, “We’ll continue living what we’re living.”