Police Chief Jeffrey Robertson Reflects on First 9 Months in Office

Cleveland Heights Police Chief Jeffrey Robertson emphasizes that he isn’t improving relationships between the community and officers. He’s enhancing already established connections between the 108-person department and residents of the city.

But since he , it’s clear that reaching out to citizens is a priority for him.

Established programs

He in March, a meeting that was in the works for a few years and is held every Thursday in . Residents can drop by between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to in person about concerns.

A special was also set up for residents who may not be able to attend the meetings in person, and just a few weeks ago, the police department account to provide the public with information like road closures, construction delays and more.

“As a police department, you got to have input from the community as to what is occurring in the city,” Robertson said. “If we don’t have that, we’re not going to be able to function as well as we should.”

At some of the community meetings, residents said they wanted more beat officers in neighborhoods. In response, the department has stationed a police officer to patrol Taylor from Kildare to Blanche, he said. Beat officers already patrol Cedar Lee, Coventry and Cedar Fairmount, he said.

And the department introduced in the spring.  

“Our guys are out there meeting the public one on one, talking to the kids. It’s a lot easier, as I’ve said, for a resident to approach a bicycle officer than a policeman in a car,” Robertson said. “A car is a little bit of an intimidator you might say.

“They all surround around the idea of interaction with the community.”

Behind the scenes, experienced officers are working with new men and women in the department on community policing, a program set up by Robertson.

The veterans talk about the ethnic, educational and religious makeup of the community in the three-month, one-on-one program so new officers better understand the city.

“As a police officer, it’s good to know the different aspects of the community, and who is in the community,” he said. “The veteran officer talks about different styles and different cultures in the community.”

At the end of the training, the officers submit their daily journal about what they learned and their experience to Robertson. Three people have completed the program so far.

Challenges

Robertson said that one of the biggest concerns and challenges for the Cleveland Heights Police Department is the increase of youth arrests and incidents in the city.

At a , Robertson provided statistics on youth arrests. As of July 31, 537 arrests have been made this year (some are repeat offenders) and out of 52 burglary arrests, 29 were juveniles. In 2010, there were 818 juvenile arrests.

“The biggest problem we’re dealing with are juvenile disturbances. It’s really incredible how much it’s increased over the years … and I think a lot of cities, most cities are dealing with that,” he said.

Though he couldn’t mention specifics, he said he has looked at programs other cities such as Cleveland and East Cleveland have implemented and has plans in the works.

 “I want to reach out to the kids.”

In the works

Another ice-breaker for police when interacting with the public is a dog.

The Cleveland Heights Police Department has a 12-year-old black lab named Reggie who helps with drug-related investigations, but he’s getting ready for retirement and doesn’t interact with residents much.

So Robertson is sending Officer Sean Gideon to a six-week training program in Wapakoneta, OH, to learn how work with patrol dogs. Then the department will pick up a new pup.

Sure, the K-9 unit can help track down suspects and locate drugs, but dogs also help people warm up to police, he said. Robertson hopes to implement the $11,000 program in October.

“We’ll see how it works, and we may add on to it in the future. I like the community aspect of it," he said. "The community loves to see a dog."