Q&A with Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl
This is the first post in a new series from the Initiative on Cities titled Eye on Cities. We’ll be speaking with urban leaders from around the world, tapping into their insights and experiences to better understand how they are building dynamic, inclusive communities.
Earlier this month, IOC Director Graham Wilson spoke with Richard Biehl, Chief of Police for the City of Dayton, Ohio. A local law enforcement expert at the intersection of public safety and working with immigrant communities, Chief Biehl has testified in front of a US House Committee in Washington DC on immigration issues and authored an Op-Ed in The Hill on the importance of building trust with immigrant communities. He recently served as a speaker at Leading Immigrant Inclusion in Urban America, a workshop hosted by the Initiative on Cities.
Learn how a leader in local law enforcement balances public safety with inclusivity.
Graham Wilson: Why is it important to develop a culture of inclusion in urban police departments?
Chief Richard Biehl: Law enforcement agencies have the duty to protect all persons within their jurisdiction without exception. Certain populations have greater vulnerability to victimization. This is true generally of immigrant communities and particularly when members of these communities do not have legal status to be in the United States. Law enforcement agencies need to reach out to vulnerable populations within their communities and communicate that they are committed to protecting, serving and assisting these community members. All members of a community are safer and better served when everyone in the community trusts and feels comfortable interacting and requesting help from the law enforcement personnel that serve them.
What was the most challenging aspect of building a culture of inclusion in your department? How did you overcome that challenge?
Culture change is an everyday commitment and task. Fortunately, my initial experience with the Dayton community was that it truly exhibited a welcoming environment. Thus there was a foundation upon which to build. Nevertheless, much of the way police officers perform their duties is defined by the way they view their role. If they see their role as law enforcers and maintainers of order, they will act accordingly by frequently relying on formal legal authority to resolve community safety problems. The emphasis changes if they see themselves as “peace officers” (as they are defined in Ohio law), problem solvers and community builders which is how I portray the role of officers to new police academy graduates. So clearly defining the role of officers is essential to defining the culture. This has been my approach to leadership within the Dayton Police Department for more than eight years. Additionally, a commitment to community policing with emphasis upon community engagement beyond formal interactions is important in building trust and partnership.
In pushing for a spirit of inclusion throughout your Department, how do you avoid the Chief saying all the right things and then having patrol officers act differently?
More than a decade ago, I had a discussion with a CEO from Toyota Motor North America Inc., who mentioned an organizational philosophy embodied in the phrase “Genchi genbutsu” – “go and see for yourself.” So validation of operational practices can be accomplished by the Police Chief spending time in field operations, or having senior command or inspectional personnel perform inspections and audits. The complementary approach to this is to acknowledge and reward those who are demonstrating the spirit of inclusiveness in the day-to-day activities.
What would be your biggest piece of advice for a new Police Chief in a city with diverse cultures and a significant immigrant community?
Quite simply, I would advise the chief to be visible in the community and ensure that the agency personnel do the same. As a new Chief (from outside of the Dayton community), I spent six months engaged in extensive community outreach. This resulted in many evenings attending community meetings or events. There is no better way to connect to the community. This applies likewise to all agency personnel. Dayton has 65 neighborhoods with community councils that meet regularly, most often monthly. Police officers and supervisors are required to attend these meetings to provide crime updates as well as listen to and respond to community concerns. Dayton police personnel routinely attend other community events and have many programs to enhance community interaction. As it relates to our immigrant communities, one example of outreach efforts entails Dayton Police officers teaching a basic traffic safety class to students at a local ESOL program. The class is taught Tuesday-Friday for one week and each day an interpreter is used to help communicate the message to a different immigrant or refugee group. For instance, on Tuesday the class is interpreted in Spanish, on Wednesday in Kinyarwanda, on Thursday in Arabic and on Friday it is taught in English. The class is a couple hours long and is taught both indoors, in a classroom setting, and then outdoors using a police cruiser and civilian vehicle. The subject matter includes what constitutes a valid ID or license, to how to interact with officers who may stop you, to how and when to ask for help from an officer.
How do you feel about whether the police should be cooperating with ICE or not? Or when and under what conditions?
Local law enforcement should cooperate with ICE when individuals represent a risk to domestic security or a significant threat to public safety. The kind of activity that represents a significant threat to public safety needs some definition and interpretation by local authorities (for example, some jurisdictions would support deportation of undocumented persons for impaired driving offenses and some would not). However, generally speaking, I agree with the immigrant removal priorities as identified under the recently established Priority Enforcement Program.
What role does the Mayor play in supporting your work with the immigrant community?
The Mayor and City Commissioners are deeply committed to ensuring that Dayton is a welcoming community for all and this is reflected in their adoption of the Welcome Dayton initiative some years ago. This comprehensive plan has been instrumental in providing the political, governmental and social infrastructure to ensure that our community is a truly inclusive environment.
In your job as Police Chief, what do you think will be the biggest challenge related to immigration and inclusion in the next 5 years?
The biggest challenge will be to interact with the increasingly diverse communities that we are becoming in a political and governmental environment that has lacked the courage, conviction and insight to overhaul an immigration system that is failing to meet the needs of our country and our communities. Absent a reformed, balanced, effective and compassionate immigration system, law enforcement personnel will continue to struggle to build collaborative relationships with immigrant communities that are needed to provide for the public safety needs of all community members.