{"id":982,"date":"2014-09-07T10:56:29","date_gmt":"2014-09-07T14:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.townehouse.net\/phoenix\/?p=982"},"modified":"2014-09-07T10:56:29","modified_gmt":"2014-09-07T14:56:29","slug":"best-police-agency-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=982","title":{"rendered":"Best Police Agency in the U.S.?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BwiRac0IAAAc-5N.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"983\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?attachment_id=983\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/BwiRac0IAAAc-5N.jpg?fit=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"600,450\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"BwiRac0IAAAc-5N\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/BwiRac0IAAAc-5N.jpg?fit=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-983\" style=\"margin: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BwiRac0IAAAc-5N-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150\" alt=\"BwiRac0IAAAc-5N\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>On September 2nd the Cincinnati Police Department tweeted a picture of Chief Blackwell addressing the newly formed Police Recruit Class and making the statement \u201cDay 1 of joining the best police agency in the US and we are expecting all of you to make it! \u201cWhat caught my attention was the term \u201cbest police agency in the U.S.\u201d. It is not that I disagree with the concept, after all, having been associated with the agency for 42 years I am sure my opinion is somewhat biased that it is the best. However, I was interested in how Blackwell came to this conclusion after being associated with the agency for less than one year. Is this to imply he thinks the Cincinnati Police Department is better than the Columbus Police Department, an agency he was associated with for 26 years? I decided to determine if there was any truth to the statement that Cincinnati Police Department was, in fact, the \u201cBest Police Agency in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>It would seem that some sort of quantifiable measurements would need to be established to ascertain who is the best. A police department does a lot of different things, and a lot of what they do cannot be measured. However, much can be measured, but who is keeping score? Some things that immediately come to mind are per capita crime rates, percentage of crimes solved, percentage of crimes not solved and not investigated, arrest and conviction rates, citizen satisfaction, officer satisfaction, average response time to calls for service, etc. This is just a quick list of items that could be measured and compared. I then spent a number of hours on Google trying to determine if such a list exists, with the above measurement points or any other measurement points. It would, in my opinion, be important that the determination of the best be the result of a standard list of measurements, and not just one or two points. In other words, it is quite possible that one agency is the best at solving homicides while another is best at citizen satisfaction. My conclusion is that I cannot draw a conclusion. Cincinnati may very well be the best, but I cannot prove or disprove the idea.<\/p>\n<p>In 1957, Life Magazine did a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/689958-life-cop-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">pictorial article <\/a>of the Cincinnati Police Division and deemed it \u201cA model police force\u201d. This did not mean the best, but it was a giant feather in the cap of the City. It meant a police department that all other Cities could model their agencies after. I think that if there was a list of data points that would grade a police agency, at least in 1957 Cincinnati would have been high on that list. Also believe that Cincinnati would be high on the list today, if such a list existed. The closest I could find of any kind of list was \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/policelink.monster.com\/benefits\/articles\/104983-top-25-cities-for-police-officers\" target=\"_blank\">Top 25 Cities For Police Officers\u201d<\/a>. Unfortunately, Cincinnati rated a dismal 23 out of 25. That, of course, is not surprising, when the City Administration makes an annual threat to lay off police officers.<\/p>\n<p>I believe there are two components that will define a police agency. The first being the character and dedication of the men and women who make up the rank and file of the department. If morale is high, if there is pride in the agency, and if integrity is paramount then there is potential the agency will be the best. The second factor is based on leadership. Does the Chief command respect or demand respect? Do the officers willingly follow his\/her orders because they instinctively know they are the right orders, or do they follow orders because of fear and intimidation? Does the chief lead by example, or does the chief lead with a do as I say, not as I do mentality? With the right combination of those two components an agency can be one of the best. I think Cincinnati is strong in the first component, the second, not so much. \u00a0As far as the original question, is the Cincinnati Police Department the best agency in the U.S, I have no idea. You decide.<\/p>\n<p>Those are my thoughts, what are yours?<\/p>\n<p>Thank you for reading the blog. Please feel free to comment, disagree, share, like, and follow or get a free subscription to the Townehouse Phoenix Blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On September 2nd the Cincinnati Police Department tweeted a picture of Chief Blackwell addressing the newly formed Police Recruit Class and making the statement \u201cDay 1 of joining the best police agency in the US [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextrevo_audio_file_creation_date":"","_daextrevo_text_to_speech":"","_daextrevo_document_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-opinion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/THFI.png?fit=214%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1261,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=1261","url_meta":{"origin":982,"position":0},"title":"Jeffrey Blackwell, It Is Time To Go!","author":"Tom Lind","date":"January 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently, following the overpass collapse on I-75, a comment was posted on a social media site by a Cincinnati Police supervisor who witnessed the collapse. The comment was written to praise the response of the first responders, both police and fire, as well as other agencies such as the Coroner's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"images","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/images1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1240,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=1240","url_meta":{"origin":982,"position":1},"title":"Blackwell&#8217;s Words Come With A Price","author":"Tom Lind","date":"December 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As most of you know, I have not been shy when it comes to reporting information with regards to Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell. I have reported on his hiring, and my concerns with that decision. I have reported on comments made with regards to the homicide rate and of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"jeffrey_blackwell","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/jeffrey_blackwell-150x144.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":590,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=590","url_meta":{"origin":982,"position":2},"title":"There&#8217;s A New Chief In Town, Again!","author":"Tom Lind","date":"September 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On August 4th, 2011 I wrote a blog article reporting that the City of Cincinnati had a new Police Chief, James E. Craig. It is hard to believe just over two years later I am once again commenting on the fact that the City of Cincinnati Police Department has a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jeffrey Blackwell","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Blackwell_copy_t750x550-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1268,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=1268","url_meta":{"origin":982,"position":3},"title":"Jeffrey Blackwell \u2013 The Puppet Police Chief","author":"Tom Lind","date":"January 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week the Townehouse Phoenix provided insight to issues with regards to the current Police Chief of Cincinnati, Jeffrey Blackwell. It is not my intent to rehash the same talking points I discussed last week. The purpose of this article is to continue the ongoing saga of how Jeffrey Blackwell\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"eddbe9d6d0220d1ce17c1f0f2a225328","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/eddbe9d6d0220d1ce17c1f0f2a225328.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11778,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=11778","url_meta":{"origin":982,"position":4},"title":"The Next Police Chief","author":"Tom Lind","date":"September 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Several weeks have now passed since the firing of Jeffrey Blackwell from his position of Police Chief of the Cincinnati Police Department. The dust seems to have settled and those who were vocal over the validity of the firing have calmed their rhetoric. Certain Council members have accepted the fact\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/preview.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/preview.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/preview.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/preview.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1314,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=1314","url_meta":{"origin":982,"position":5},"title":"The Wrong Man","author":"Tom Lind","date":"April 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I have followed\u00a0\u00a0the news regarding the incident in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9th, 2014 when a man, Michael Brown, viciously attacked a Police Officer, Darren Wilson, who subsequently had to resort to deadly force in order to defend himself from life threatening violence. Notice how the preceding relates the basic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/o-FAKE-SMILE-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/o-FAKE-SMILE-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/o-FAKE-SMILE-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/o-FAKE-SMILE-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/o-FAKE-SMILE-facebook.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p38YRh-fQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}