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New police chief reaches out in Woodmere
(by Sali McSherry - July 07, 2010)
New police chief reaches out in Woodmere
By SALI McSHERRY
After five months on the job, Woodmere Police Chief Terence Calloway has been working to positively change the perception of the formerly embattled police department.
After years of turmoil, including lawsuits and equal-rights violations by former Mayor Yolanda Broadie, the new administration is taking the time to get to know residents' and merchants' concerns, he said. It's been a 360-degree turn since he first started in his post Jan. 25, Mr. Calloway said.
When he started the job, he found that the reality of the health of the village was not as bad as the perception, Mr. Calloway said.
The monthly department meetings have become a little more down home, with potluck lunches, he said. Mr. Calloway has worked to take some of the negative pressure off by empowering officers and making them realize that their opinions count and that they are, together, a unit.
"I refused to let one person cripple the organization," he said. One of the goals is for officers to show they are approachable and develop more of a "community-policing" concept, a vision in keeping with new Mayor Charles E. Smith Jr.'s goals. The police only can see so much out in the community, and forming relationships with residents and merchants is imperative to providing the most safety, Mr. Calloway said.
At 9:30 a.m. July 10, the police department will hosting a meet-and-greet event to give people a chance to offer feedback, he said.
The department has formed a new bicycle-patrol unit, with bicycles supplied by the Eton Chagrin Boulevard shopping center and the Kertesz family, which owns the Beechmont Towers apartment building. It's been a great way for officers to introduce themselves to residents and merchants, Mr. Calloway said.
When he was appointed by Mr. Smith, whom he had known in high school, Mr. Calloway said, he called neighboring police chiefs to introduce himself and get the lay of the land. He's developing relationships with those communities. The 41-year-old former Warrensville Heights police officer and criminal justice instructor, said he admires the chiefs in the Chagrin Valley, some of them who have been in their posts for decades. He's learning, he said, from those veteran chiefs. Nothing can replace experience, he said.
Officers walk through Eton, so there's a police presence inside, Mr. Calloway said. Some of the programs he wants to invest in include block watches, offering a controlled environment like a nighttime basketball league for the children in the village, and hosting a children's police academy. There are about 60 kids living in the village.
With over 65 percent of the 800 residents over the age of 65, he said, there are special concerns seniors may have and the department wants to know how best to help. The village is considering developing a senior citizens' police academy for residents, Mr. Calloway said.
With a $1 million operating budget, the department had no overtime cost in the last pay period and "that's never happened before," he said. This year, before he arrived at the end of January, already $7,800 had been charged in police overtime, and since then, only about $1,500 has been charged. In 2009, overtime amounted to about $52,000, and in 2008, it amounted to about $63,000, Mr. Calloway said.
The department's training is progressing rapidly. The chief is forming the village's own criminal investigation division to take some of the pressure of the Valley Enforcement Group. And for the first time, Woodmere has a police officer on VEG's special weapons and tactics team, officer Cornell Carter.
The department is comprised of 13 full-time officers and seven part-time officers, he said, and is working to put officers in roles in which they will thrive. Some will be traveling this month to federally funded disaster preparedness training in Alabama.
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