Former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey is joining Wilmington’s police department.
Mayor Dennis Williams’ office announced Monday morning that Ramsey will serve as a public safety consultant to Wilmington PD starting immediately.
Ramsey ran Philadelphia’s police department from 2008 until the end of last year when he stepped down. Prior to that he was Washington D.C.’s Metro Police chief from 1999 to early 2007. He also served as co-chair of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
Mayor Williams office says Ramsey will assist Wilmington Police Chief Bobby Cummings and his staff with public safety analysis and strategy development.
“Commissioner Ramsey has been recognized as one of our nation’s leading public safety officials, and is regarded as being at the forefront of modern day policing,” said Williams in a statement. “As the Wilmington Police Department continues to attack violent crime, I am honored to partner with the Commissioner in this effort, as he will provide invaluable expertise and knowledge in this area.”
Cummings says he looks forward to tapping Ramsey’s experience for direction in a wide variety of areas.
"I think he can give me some assistance in taking a look at our department - look at our deployment, look at the technology we’re currently using – and also make some suggestions and recommendations around how he feels we’re doing with our community policing effort," Cummings told Delaware Public Media.
In his own statement, Ramsey said the Wilmington Police Department is “headed in the right direction” and believes further implementing 21st Century Policing task force recommendations can help it improve police community relations and reduce violent crime.
Cummings says Ramsey’s connection with the 21st Century Policing task force make him a valuable resource to Wilmington.
"He was on the task force and by serving on that commission – and we are looking to implement a lot of the things that came out of its report – he can kind of walk us through that process," said Cummings.
Cummings adds that Mayor Williams had been talking with Ramsey over the past year and a half, seeking advice on policing and when Ramsey decided to retire from his post in Philadelphia asked him if he'd come on board as a consultant.
A spokesperson for Mayor Williams says Ramsey’s consulting contract runs for seven months and he will be paid as much as $16,000 per month from the Wilmington PD Mayors’ office budgets.
