John Timoney has established a reputation as an excellent police commissioner.
In his nearly four years as leader of the department, he oversaw a precipitous drop in crime, new programs targeting inner-city drug offenders and a comprehensive reorganization of the department.
But for all his efforts, one important goal remains unaddressed: improving the Philadelphia Police Department's relationship with minorities.
Minority relations have always been important to Timoney. In New York, his insistence that the NYPD was doing too little to confront its problems with the minority community led to friction with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Unfortunately, during his time here in Philadelphia, Timoney did not expend the attention and energy needed to establish a relationship of trust between the department and the minority community.
Instead, his tenure has been punctuated by a number of high-profile, embarrassing cases that have only further undermined what little trust exists between the Philadelphia Police and such communities. Last year's videotaped beating of a black car-jacking suspect and the 1998 shooting of an unarmed black youth sitting in his car caused shock and outrage in the city and across the nation.
Though Timoney himself emerged more or less unscathed, he did not do nearly enough to combat the perception that racism is rampant among police. His efforts to improve the department's image -- banning uniformed officers from smoking in public -- do deserve a great deal of praise. At the same time, he leaves a department plagued with scandal and deeply distrusted by members of many minority groups.
It is incumbent upon his successor, whoever that may be, to vigorously attack the race issue. If there is racism in the Philadelphia Police Department, it needs to be stamped out. The police must make an effort to earn the trust of the minority community. It is not an easy task by any measure, but it is perhaps the most important problem currently facing the department.
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