Police Chief Ronald Ricucci : "I never get complacent"
by Howard Kohn
| Photo: Julie Wiatt |  | | Takoma Park Police Chief Ronald Ricucci | Ronald Ricucci turned 57 last year and, figuring it was time for the slow lane, he retired as police chief of Front Royal, Virginia, and moved with his wife to Florida. Retirement lasted eight weeks.
Chief Ricucci found an ex-cop's job, handling security for a big school district, and when his bosses dispatched him to take refresher courses at an academy, a setting for police rookies, he had a glimpse of himself at an earlier age. It made him rethink.
"I realized I had a lot real police work left in me," he says.
A short while later a recruitment ad for the vacant position of police chief in Takoma Park caught his attention, and he applied. This is his home ground. As a young boy he lived five minutes away in northeast Washington. He graduated from Wheaton High, Class of '67, and played college football at Frostburg. Until 1996 his police career was with the Montgomery County force, rising from cadet to deputy chief.
"Plus my wife and I had personal reasons for wanting to come back here." Their son, daughter-in-law and grandson - with another grandchild on the way -- make their home in Frederick County. Chief Ricucci's widowed mother resides in a retirement facility even closer to Takoma Park.
Of 90 applicants, Chief Ricucci, gregarious, a hard charger, imposing for a guy of regular size, devoted to frankness in an almost old-fashioned way, was the one selected by City Manager Barb Matthews.
On February 23, three days after his official appointment, he sat for an interview in the tight quarters of his office: orderly and shined-up, plaques on white walls telling his professional story, a flag on his desk.
Almost immediately he made it clear he will not be spending much time in the office.
Q: Now that you're here what will your first steps be?
Coming in I'm looking for certain signs. Over the next 60 days I want to talk to everyone in the department, talk to community leaders, talk to the press. Try to get a feel for where we are and where we need to be and then come up with a game plan.
I am pro-active. I don't like being reactive. I try to anticipate problems on the horizon before they hit me.
We're a small department, but I expect our service to be the best. I will not lower that standard. I expect courtesy, professionalism and responsiveness.
Q: The catch phrase for several years here has been "community policing." What does it mean to you?
That was a major question when they interviewed me for the job. To me community policing is a partnership between the residents, the business owners, and the officers. You have to buy into the philosophy, and it has to be a shared belief.
First you've got to sell the officers so they understand. Sometimes they think it's a specialized unit. Sometimes they think it's something the chief has dreamed up. It's not that foreign. It means our officers have to get involved with the people who live here. Say it's a complaint about cars speeding on a street. I expect our officers to talk to the residents of that street and come up with a mutual solution. Do we need a different speed limit? Do we need better signage?
The community buy-in is similar: Get more involved. You'll be hearing that a lot from me: Get involved. Not enough of our residents are calling the police. Right off the cuff, I noticed our calls for service are down the last couple years. I want people calling, emergency or non-emergency. We're not too busy to check out a suspicious person. Or, if you have a complaint, let's hear it.
Some people think the police are too busy or don't care. And some officers act like they're tired of the same old complaints. Community policing means changing those attitudes.
Q: A number of people believe community policing means officers walking a beat, especially during the hours when so many commuters are on the sidewalks going to or from the Metro.
We did it in Front Royal. I instituted walking patrols. I intend to see how our officers here are using their 12 hours a day. I want them to find time for walking. Sometimes it's hard to get officers out of the car, but there are times when you aren't busy and you can patrol on foot.
Q: Your first big challenge seems to be in Old Takoma. Six businesses have been robbed at gunpoint in the past three months. One has been robbed twice. Some stores are keeping their doors locked, American Craft, for one. Customers have to knock to get in.
I was aware of the robberies before I got here. With the latest ones we've upped what we're doing. Our detectives and patrol officers are assigned to the robberies, and I have another detail working. I can't go into specifics, but there are extra patrols on the streets, high visibility. We'd like to catch the perpetrators, but I also want to prevent anything further. I want to send a message to the robbers, "Don't come here." The second message I want to send is for business owners to feel safe. I want them to see our officers visible on the street.
Q: Do you have a policy about officers working directly with kids?
You are the first person to ask about the youth, but I plan to sit down soon with the City's recreation leader and her staff. We need a partnership with them. In the past I've had a Youth Advisory Board where I met with kids once a month just to talk. I had a Youth Advisory Council where the youth had a goal of a skateboard park - in Front Royal. They raised the funds, and it's finally going to happen. We also had a Youth Academy where we put on classes to explain to high school kids what a police department does.
Those are ideas that have worked before, and I will look to try them again, although what worked in Virginia may not work here.
| Photo: Julie Wiatt |  |
Q: What comparisons would you make between Takoma Park and Front Royal?
A little more crime here, and we're located on three borders, which creates extra problems.
Q: Are there other ideas from Front Royal that might be tried here?
I started Business Watch there, with block leaders. We had a speed program that an insurance company paid for. We announced "This street is the target this week," and we did radar. We had a Chief's Advisory Board, people who represented different areas of town. They gave me input, and I gave them an update. We had a Citizens Academy, which hasn't been done here in eight years. That just amazes me. In Front Royal we averaged 25 citizens a year for 12 weeks, different presentations about police work, what I consider better than watching TV. Really went over well. Usually four or five people enjoyed it so much they would take it again. There is another excellent program, Volunteers in Policing - VIPS. I can't think of a better place than Takoma Park to start a volunteer program. It saves money because you don't have to hire as much fulltime help.
Q: Where are you with staffing?
I'm two down in sworn and two down in dispatchers. I'm getting ready to hire both dispatchers, and I'm hoping to hire one officer, and we'll reopen for the other. I will have my vacancies filled in the next 60 days. I already told the City Manager, when I get a vacancy, I fill it.
Q: Any advantages that you bring as someone who worked in Montgomery for almost 30 years?
I know top police people in this area, and I will play on that. I know I can't do it by myself. The chiefs of Rockville, Gaithersburg and Chevy Chase are personal friends. Same in Prince George's County. My wife will tell you she thought I used to moonlight in P. G. because I'd stop over there so much. I'm familiar with the Metropolitan PD. And we have to be good partners with Montgomery County obviously. Major Tracy, who is now in charge, I've known for many years.
Q: Your bottom line?
My bottom line is our response to our community. The residents and business owners are our customers. If we need to improve our service, then we're going to do it. Too often, when there are no complaints, a police chief gets complacent. I never get complacent.
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