By ABC11
Source The News & Observer (Raleigh)
As Rico Boyce takes the helm of the Raleigh Police Department as their 31st chief of police, he hopes to make changes that will be felt for years to come.
He told ABC11 immediately after his swearing in that community engagement is a big priority for him in his new role, saying he hopes every Raleigh citizen will know a police officer personally and that officers won’t be strangers to the people they serve.
Boyce started the Cops on the Blocks initiative several years back and has already brought it back, hoping to strengthen RPD’s relationship with the community.
“We’re going to engage our community where they are. We’re going to be respectful, professional. We’re going to continue to use technology to help reduce crime,” Chief Boyce told ABC11. “We’re going to be accessible. We’re going to be very transparent about what we do. Our crime stats, our discipline, all that is going to be very public facing on social media.”
He also wants to grow the department, adding more officers as more people move to the city. He wants Raleigh Police to grow to 1,000 officers, with the department currently holding positions for a little less than 800.
He chose to have his swearing-in ceremony Tuesday night at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School, where he served a school resource officer decades ago. One of his former students, Tiesha Mosely, even emceed the event, saying that his constant dedication, his heart, and his commitment to community have stayed constant over the decades he’s served the Raleigh Police Department.
During the ceremony, he thanked those who have mentored him, those who have advocated for him, and those who have prayed for him over his decades with RPD. He also shouted out his brothers from Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, dozens of whom were in the audience showing support.
The auditorium was packed with supporters of Boyce as he formally began his new role as chief.
Raleigh City Manager Marchell Adams-David addressed the crowd, saying that while a formal process for choosing the new chief was necessary after former Chief Estella Patterson decided to retire, Boyce was always the clear frontrunner.
“He stands on business when things don’t go right. He holds people accountable when they don’t do what they’re supposed to do, and he holds the community accountable when it doesn’t do what it is supposed to do - and what more can you ask for? It is a reciprocal agreement where we are all in this together,” Adams-David said during the ceremony.
ABC11 is The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner.
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