Here’s how Richland’s new police chief is getting the public’s help fighting crime

It’s Friday night and one of Richland’s newest officers get an unexpected visitor — the police chief.

Chief John Bruce was on patrol for the third time in the last month. This time with a newly hired patrolman with five years experience in a Western Washington police department.

As Bruce is getting started for the night, he posts a message on Twitter.

“Tonight’s the night. #ChiefonPatrol. I will be riding out with Officer Zach Yates for a few hours,” he tweets.

The #ChiefonPatrol messages are part of the the department’s new efforts to open itself up more to the public.

While Richland police were used to posting on mostly on Facebook, Bruce started using Twitter during his time in Frisco, Texas.

“The riding out with patrol officers is nothing new for me, so when I first got in the car a couple of weeks ago with the first one, I thought, ‘Well I’ll just combine it,’” he said. “It’s a new component as a part of them getting out of field training.”

His tweets are just one in a series of initiatives to encourage people to know more about their police force.

Neighborhood watch

Earlier this year Richland police created nine Facebook groups to act as online neighborhood watch groups.

Residents can use the social media platform to report what is going on in their neighborhood to both people living around them but also to the police.

“We’ve had great buy-in. We’re just past 2,200 members,” said Cerise Peck, the department’s crime prevention specialist. “From my standpoint, I love the level of customer service they get from the groups. It’s a direct portal that is looked at every day.”

It also gives Peck and others a chance to educate people about the information police need them to hear.

During October, some folks complained that their pumpkins were taken from their porches and smashed.

Patrol officers want to know if someone is going onto private property and destroying items, because they may do it somewhere else with something more valuable.

Often there are just eight officers patrolling the city at night and the extra eyes from the public are valuable.

“That communication is the most important part of crime prevention,” Peck said. “It is the number one way we’re going to prevent crime and reduce crime. We rely on our community to tell us what is going on. We want to make it as easy as possible.”

To join, people need to live in Richland and enter their address to make sure they’re in the right group.

Crime data portal

The department also has just added a crime data portal gives people access to information the criminal activity in their neighborhood. About six months of information is available.

People can check to see if the area around them is being hit with vehicle prowls or find out why police were in the neighborhood.

The portal is new but the department’s crime analyst started working on it two years ago, Peck said.

Information about Richland crimes previously were available through the same Lexis Nexis’ Community Crime Map that Kennewick police use.

The new system is faster. It’s updated with new information every 15 minutes.

“We’ve had a lot of feedback on it,” said Peck, who’s tweeted about her own ride-alongs with officers. “A lot of people look at it daily.”

They are exploring other ways to work with the public to collect information, including putting together a list of people who have surveillance cameras. If something happens in that area, police know who might have video of the suspects.

New chief

Bruce started as the department’s new chief in June.

The city started its search for a new chief more than a year before when Chris Skinner took over the Eugene, Ore., police department.

Bruce wrapped up more than 30 years with Texas law enforcement agencies, including 6 1/2 years of being chief in Frisco, Texas, before coming to Richland.

He and his wife were hoping to move to the Northwest.

“(Richland’s) a great community,” he said. “It’s living up to that expectation that I believe it is forward-thinking.”

Some of the most recent updates were shared on the department’s Facebook page and attracted compliments and tips with some asking the chief to patrol around the school, or look for an ex-boyfriend with warrants.

Others thanked the chief for being out on the streets.

It’s been good for employees too.

“The officers really enjoy having me come out and ride with them so far,” Bruce said. “It’s something new to them. Some of these folks are lateral officers from around the nation. They’re not used to seeing the chief, much less being in the same car.”

He said the agency isn’t done looking for ways to keep improving.

“We’re taking 2020 as an opportunity to sharpen our vision,” he said. “(We’re) looking at what we do, examining our policies and procedures, looking at manpower and allocation, all of those kinds of things that you would expect a business to do.”