Visibility runs through the heart of Celeste Murphy’s vision of policing.
The woman announced Tuesday by Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly as the city’s new police chief initially wants to make herself known to the force, then to the community by getting into neighborhoods and “getting buy-in” – seeing “what they may or may not need.”
In turn, Murphy wants her officers to immerse themselves in the community and for community members to immerse themselves with the department.
When they do that, when they “get into each other’s culture [and] lane,” members of the community “don’t see the uniform,” she told Times Free Press editorial page editors in a conference call last week.
If that community visibility works as it should, Murphy said, when members of the community are “seeing someone who looks like you,” they can see that “something is attainable” – what a career in law enforcement might offer.
That, she said, is how she might succeed where police chiefs before her have failed in recruiting larger numbers of minorities to the department.
Murphy – whose hiring must be approved by the city council – said she herself had to catch a vision of what she could be during her career in Georgia’s capital.
“I loved being a detective in narcotics,” she said. But another officer – a man, not a woman, she said – pulled her aside and urged her take the exam for sergeant.
Then, Murphy said, “I caught the bug.”
The current Atlanta deputy chief said violent crime reduction, community policing (that visibility again) and youth engagement would be her priorities.
Indeed, all three of those work together. Youth engagement is part of community policing, and if it’s as successful as it should be, youth will see less reason to be involved in violent crime.
“A lot of that [bridging the gap] can start with our kids,” Murphy said, adding it is important for that to occur before they become initiated into violence. “From there, it mushrooms. You build a bond with the parents. That’s the ticket. Instead of continually arresting [the same people], you get in front of it.”
Kelly, in introducing Murphy, said overall crime in Atlanta dropped by double digits in 2020 when she led the force’s Community Services Division and Special Operations Division. However, she’s seen her share of violence in the Big Peach in the last two years to know it will be important to focus on here.
In 2021, Atlanta murders, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, auto theft and arson all increased slightly over a tumultuous 2020. Murders themselves were up 44% over 2019.
The violent protests that wrangled Atlanta, and many other U.S. cities following the death of George Floyd at Minneapolis police hands in 2020, were Murphy’s most difficult moment on the force.
Her officers already were dealing with COVID, their spouses were losing their jobs with the pandemic shutdowns, and they had difficulty in finding consistent daycare openings, she said.
“You’re trying to keep people motivated,” Murphy said. “Then we went straight into the protests. It takes a toll.”
The New York native, who has lived in Atlanta nearly 30 years, said she can’t say what her first moves will be once she is confirmed, but she said the department “has a lot going on that is right. There are a lot of good people.”
Nevertheless, she said, more training, more professional development and more technology are likely to be things she’ll recommend. She also sees potential for an Atlanta program where officers have the ability to call out other police employees during some lower-level, nonviolent incidents and offer social service work in lieu of an arrest and charge.
Murphy said the program has been used with offenses such as criminal trespass and in some charges homeless individuals might incur. It prevents the same people from being arrested over and over, she said.
She also said the revival of a gang task force, as recommended in a Monday debate by Hamilton County mayor candidate Sabrena Smedley, is worth considering.
“It’s common to be involved” in such programs with other law enforcement agencies, Murphy said. “We’ve seen success. You have to monitor it to be sure you’re [working] in the right places.”
The new chief brings a variety of experiences to the table, but we especially liked the way she described herself as a “Mama Bear” in discussing her pride in seeing other officers promoted.
If those she described Tuesday as “that small percentage of people who make the biggest dent in our crimes” can see her visibility in our city as a warm, friendly, encouraging “Mama Bear,” maybe they’ll be less inclined to offend.