The lineup: Pictured are (from left) Capt. Michael Gormley, 7th District; Capt. Adam Friedman, 8th District; Capt. Thomas McLean, 2nd District; Capt. John McCloskey, 15th District; Lt. Dennis Rosenbaum of Northeast Detectives; and Inspector Benjamin Naish.
Members of the public got a chance to meet the brass last week and also to tell the Northeast’s top cops what concerns them in their neighborhoods.
Those issues ranged from noise complaints to illegal weekend construction to dangerous buildings to Philadelphia Police Department cooperation with SEPTA police to problems with the Northeast’s growing immigrant population.
The commanders of all four Northeast Philadelphia police districts were introduced by Inspector Benjamin Naish at a Town Hall meeting Feb. 19 at the Philadelphia Protestant Home.
On hand were Capt. Thomas McLean of the 2nd District and Capt. Michael Gormley of the 7th, both of whom only recently took their districts, the 8th’s Capt. Adam Friedman, the 15th’s Capt. John McCloskey, Lt. Dennis Rosenbaum of the Northeast Detective Division and Assistant District Attorney Jacqueline Coelho, head of the DA’s Northeast Bureau.
All said they wanted to hear from the public.
“Everybody here is dedicated to the community,” Naish said. But, he said, this is a challenging time for law enforcement. “We are aware of it and … and are making it better.”
The department currently is testing “body cameras” for use by officers. Those cameras will let the public see how officers conduct themselves.
Coelho said she particularly wants to hear from citizens at the sentencings of the criminals. Judges should know how much residents care about the impact of violent crime in their communities.
“She couldn’t be a greater advocate” for the Northeast, Rosenbaum said of Coelho.
The topics brought up last week included:
• How do police officers deal with new residents from other countries who don’t understand English and either don’t comprehend they are committing crimes or don’t get that officers are trying to help them? Naish said police start by contacting religious leaders who become community’s liaisons.
• How do residents report illegal construction going on during the weekend? The Department of Licenses and Inspections has inspectors who are on call.
• What to do about cops who are not responsive to a situation? The new officer might not know how to deal with a situation or a resident might come up against an officer who is “less than committed,” Naish said. A resident has the right to call for police supervisors.
• Like any big city, Philly has a lot of noise complaints. Naish said the 15th District has a sergeant trained in noise detection.
• Asked about cooperation with SEPTA police, Naish said Philly PD and the transit authority’s cops cooperated to stop robberies near the Frankford Transportation Center. There was an early-morning pattern of crimes, Naish said, in which older women were targeted.
“There was great cooperation with SEPTA,” Naish said.
The inspector hopes to hold quarterly Town Hall meetings, he said, and plans to hold the next one sometime in May in the 15th District. ••
