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How not to sell a new policing plan

St. Petersburg police Chief Chuck Harmon got a basic lesson in public relations Wednesday night: When 100 anxious neighborhood leaders fill an auditorium to hear about significant changes to community policing, stay put to answer their questions.

The Council of Neighborhood Associations is unquestionably a tough audience. Its outgoing president, Karl Nurse, is flatly opposed to the changes, previously pushed for a departmental management review and introduced Harmon with a less-than-cordial ambush about police practices and crime rates.

But the chief did himself no favors by declining to entertain questions from the audience. He apparently thought he could head off a nasty debate, but he appeared paternalistic and defensive. As he answered individual questions in the hallway, CONA members left in the auditorium were stewing. Some booed his departure. They voted to send him a list of written questions.

The visit was part of the chief's ongoing attempt to sell his new policing strategy to neighborhood groups, and he offered an engaging presentation that included the introduction of officers from the scaled-down community policing office. Not all the feedback was negative. He already has received support from many neighborhood activists, and incoming CONA president Barbara Heck is counseling patience: "I think everybody just needs to take a moment and see how this is going to work."

The chief is unrealistic, however, if he expects all groups to eagerly embrace his initiative. CONA, for example, had asked for more, not fewer, community officers, and he announced the change without any prior community consultation or public debate. He surely saw on Thursday that some City Council members share the concerns. But privately devising major policy changes and presenting them to residents as a finished product without public input up front is an all too common practice by Mayor Rick Baker and his administration. That can trigger reflexive opposition even when the idea is a good one.

The police chief's new plan is aimed at allowing all officers to respond to community problems, and residents should keep an open mind. But if Chief Harmon wants neighborhood leaders to embrace his new policing strategy, he has to be willing to answer questions from the public even in a hostile environment. If he can't take the heat, then perhaps the change in policing policy isn't as well thought out as it should have been.

[Last modified December 21, 2006, 23:14:02]