Despite our differences; I believe he is a good man, and a step in the right direction in AP.
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > Happy Easter & Happy Pesach Holidays! > > Great upbeat article here: > > _For First Time Since 1993, Asbury Park Gets a Police Chief - New York > Times_ > (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/08njpeopl e.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) > > > > April 8, 2007 Law Enforcement > For First Time Since 1993, Asbury Park Gets a Police Chief > By _JILL P. CAPUZZO_ (http://query.nytimes.com/search/query? ppds=bylL&v1=JILL > P. CAPUZZO&fdq=19960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=JILL P. > CAPUZZO&inline=nyt-per) > > Asbury Park > CRUISING through the neighborhoods here, a 2002 black Chevy Impala stirs an > immediate reaction. It is not the expected response by those who recognize an > unmarked police car -- choosing to stop at the yellow light perhaps, or > scurrying away from a known drug corner. Instead, it is a warm greeting directed > at the driver of the car. > "Hey, Chief, nice to see you here!" one woman shouted from the window of her > car, parked outside a housing project. > "I like the sound of that," said Mark Kinmon, still adjusting to his new > title as chief of the Asbury Park Police Department. > Being named chief in March came as a big relief to Mr. Kinmon, a 17- year > veteran of the force, and was a welcome change for the rest of the department > and the residents of this shore city, which has not had a police chief since > 1993. > Like many other cities eager to inject a business management style into > policing and concerned that their forces had become too entrenched in department > politics and union allegiances, Asbury Park experimented with hiring an > outside civilian to run the Police Department. > Here, at least, the experiment did not go so well. In 14 years, there were > five civilian police directors in charge of the department. The last one, L. > Louis Jordan, left in December 2005 after months of turmoil within the > department. > "We went from the worst to the best," said Detective Gene Dello, the > departmentâs top union representative, referring to the Jordan reign and Kinmon > promotion. "Prior, we had a problem with abuse of sick time. Now, the officers > are not only coming to work, they're working extra." > After Mr. Jordan left, talk about re-establishing the position of chief > began, and Mr. Kinmon, who had risen to the rank of deputy chief, seemed a clear > choice. During the 16 months he was being considered for the job, the city saw > a spike in murders and the concrete signs of long-promised redevelopment. > "No one can say that the time Mark was being evaluated wasn't a challenging > time in our community," Asbury Park's city manager, Terence J. Reidy, said at > the chiefâs March 10 swearing-in ceremony. "The city has turned a corner in a > positive way, and it is the right time to name a chief for Asbury Park." > By hiring a chief from within the ranks, Mr. Reidy said he was trying to > establish stability in the department while "sending a message that when you > sign up as a rookie, if you do a good job, someday you could be chief." > At first glance, Mr. Kinmon, 39, might not seem the obvious choice to lead a > department of 89 officers in a city in which 62 percent of the population is > black. For starters, he is white. Then there is his preternaturally youthful > appearance. > James Q. Roberts, a security officer for the cityâs Housing Authority, said > Chief Kinmon's race was not an issue among black residents. > "It's not so much him being a white guy," said Mr. Roberts, who as a young > man spent time in jail for fighting and gang violence and said Mr. Kinmon > helped set him straight. "For any major crime, the chief is always on the scene. > He's earned peopleâs respect." > After graduating from Howell High School, Mr. Kinmon worked for two years as > a corrections officer at the Monmouth County Jail before joining the Asbury > Park police in 1990. His wife, Karen, is a bookkeeper for a hair salon, and > his son, Craig, is a senior at Howell High. Until recently, Chief Kinmon, a > marathon runner, regularly bicycled to work, a 16-mile trek from Howell. > "I could never see myself as the kind of person to stop cars all day," he > said. "I'm an active person and this is an active town. It's a perfect fit for > me." > While Asbury Park's waterfront and downtown are exploding with new housing > and commercial development, many neighborhoods still languish. In an effort to > bridge this widening gap, Chief Kinmon has been working with the new Police > Athletic League to develop programs for young people, offering everything from > boxing to hair-braiding classes and a summer youth week to introduce > students to law enforcement as a career. > "We don't want to keep coming up to the corner and seeing these kids and > having to put handcuffs on them and bring them to jail," Chief Kinmon said. > "We'd much rather pick them up and bring them to the basketball court." > > > > > > ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. > Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join (Yahoo! 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