Rethinking law, order in Norristown

Terry Newton does not usually trust police officers.

But after his 28-year-old son was shot and killed in Norristown last month, he found comfort at an unexpected place: the police station.

Norristown police Chief Mark Talbot stood among Newton's family. He expressed sympathy for the death of Keithon Majors. He made eye contact. He answered questions.

"It was almost like I was in his living room," Newton said.

That approach is typical for Talbot.

In his first 18 months on the job, the chief has worked to transform his department and overcome what borough officials called a long-standing lack of trust between residents and police. His efforts in Norristown, an urban community of 34,000 with large black and Hispanic populations, come as issues of race, community policing, and urban law enforcement have attracted national attention.

Norristown's new chief - the first nonwhite permanently appointed to the post - has not been afraid to speak out. He set out to engage with residents. And he asked his 67 officers to change the way they view their jobs.

"We're not here to lock people up or throw them in jail," Talbot said. "So [I am] getting rid of the notion that that's what policing is about and describing in very explicit ways how we're going to do business and what the business is about."

Talbot, 44, who served 18 years with the Reading police, was hired in 2013. He succeeded Russell Bono, who spent 42 years with the Norristown police and is now Montgomery County sheriff.

As chief, Bono said, he had "a zero-tolerance, aggressive policing technique."

But complaints that police were "rude and standoffish" had been commonplace, said Linda Christian, president of the Borough Council.

"There weren't any significant mechanisms to allow us to effectively engage with the community," Talbot said. The new chief asked his officers to walk the neighborhoods, knock on doors, and "treat people better than they expect to be treated."

More than a year later, borough officials and residents said his approach is successful. Crime rates ticked down slightly from 2013 to 2014 - serious offenses such as murder, rape, robbery, assault, and burglary dropped from 1,399 to 1,180 - and officials say residents' perceptions improved.

"There's a real sense of an increased amount of safety on the streets," said Borough Council member Olivia Brady.

Talbot is "all about building relationships," said the Rev. Brian Akamine, executive director of Partners for Families, a nonprofit run by local Christian clergy. Akamine invited the chief to speak to pastors last year.

"Just the fact that he showed up and that he was willing and enthusiastic about engaging the community - that in an of itself was a real breakthrough," Akamine said.

Bono, the former chief, said he does not view the changes as a criticism of the way he ran the department. He said he and Talbot simply had different philosophies.

"Instead of making arrests, [Talbot] has them first interact with the kids and talk to them to avoid arrests," Bono said. "Our model was, if you committed a crime, we had zero tolerance and we would be out there arresting people."

Bono said he is happy that Talbot's approach is working. But he noted that reported crimes may have decreased, in part, because the department no longer has a policy focused on making arrests.

Talbot acknowledged that his changes to the department have been "a touchy thing," but said he is committed to his goal.

Talbot speaks with authority and describes police work as a passion; he wanted to be a policeman since he was a kid in Oxford, Chester County. He still lives with his family in Berks County, and begins his days at 4:45 a.m. He also takes evening courses at Pennsylvania State University's Berks Campus.

After years as an officer in Reading, Talbot left in 2011 to become director of the state Bureau of Enforcement Investigations.

But he missed daily police work. When he saw a job listing for chief in Norristown, he knew nothing about the borough. He applied after learning Norristown is similar to Reading.

Both communities are urban county seats with growing minority populations and issues with violent crime.

Reading police Chief Bill Heim, who worked with Talbot there and promoted him to deputy chief, said his department focuses on customer service.

"We train officers to collect evidence right on the scene," Heim said. "We allow them to develop operational plans for stemming a crime."

Talbot took the same approach in Norristown. This spring, he received a complaint about graffiti in a neighborhood in the southwest section of Norristown.

He sent officers to talk to neighbors, who pointed them to a home where "it's very likely there's some drug activity occurring," Talbot said. His simply knocked on the door. No arrests were made, but Talbot said the drug activity stopped. Officers planned to follow up weeks later.

Talbot said the most meaningful feedback on his work in Norristown came last month, when he saw a Facebook post from Newton, the father of the shooting victim, thanking the chief for his response.

Newton is black, and has had past brushes with law enforcement, including for resisting arrest. When his son died, he was reluctant to approach the police. But he's glad he met Talbot.

"It does seem like there's somewhat of a change," he said, ". . . in the way that the officers handle and deal with the community now."

610-313-8116

@Lmccrystal