POLICE CHIEF PUTS PLANS INTO ACTION

Fayetteville Police Chief Tom McCarthy has beefed up the narcotics unit and
started a squad to handle neighborhood-specific problems. McCarthy began
contemplating a reorganization several months ago, after he had spent some
time analyzing the department. McCarthy was hired last year and started
work in June. He put his plan into action about a month ago and presented
it to the City Council on Monday night.

Council members supported McCarthy's plan.

"It's good that we're moving forward," Councilman D.J. Haire said.

Councilman Robert Massey asked McCarthy if he needed more police officers,
especially because the city is annexing urban neighborhoods of Cumberland
County.

McCarthy said his challenge is recruiting quality people. He said he would
not be shy about asking for more officers if he needed them.

In an interview before the meeting, McCarthy said he does not want to
reveal exactly how many officers will be working in narcotics. He said that
the unit is bigger, and duties have been divided so groups focus on
upper-level, mid-level and street-level drug activity. Newly formed squads
called the Special Problems Units will be handling much of the street-level
drug crimes.

There is a Special Problems Unit in each of the Police Department's two
districts. Those units -- made up of a lieutenant, a sergeant and five
officers -- also handle other assignments from the two district commanders,
Capt. Tom Bergamine and Capt. Brad Chandler.

"The units work where it makes sense," McCarthy said. "There's an awful lot
of street crime, and that's what they have been dealing with."

McCarthy's plan also aims at taking some of the red tape out of police work.

"Too often, decision making is made too high in the organization, at
different levels of bureaucracy," McCarthy said. "I am giving more
authority to captains, who in turn give more to lieutenants and sergeants."

The officers seem to be responding well, according to McCarthy. Recently,
one patrol squad wanted to have permanent shifts, while another preferred
rotating shifts. The district commanders were able to give each squad what
it wanted.

"As long as the work product is getting done, I want to give them the
latitude to do it," he said.

McCarthy also created an Operations Control Bureau under Maj. Robert
Shambley. The bureau combines the investigations and patrol bureaus in an
attempt to solve communications problems between the two.

Maj. Phil Cannady, who now has the title of executive officer, is in charge
of Special Projects and Focus, which will emphasize fighting crime in
specific neighborhoods, using statistics and record management to target
problems. Each month, McCarthy and Cannady meet with the district
commanders and some of the supervisors in each zone to discuss problems
patrol officers are seeing on the street.

"It's a fact-finding session to kick around plans and see if we have enough
resources," he said. "Each district addresses the problems in their area
and it increases the level of accountability."

The Police Department divides its patrolling areas into 19 zones split
between two districts, the Cross Creek District, which handles areas mostly
west of Bragg Boulevard, while the Campbellton district covers
neighborhoods mostly east of Bragg Boulevard.

In an effort to have a more diversified department that better represents
the community, McCarthy said he is placing an emphasis on recruiting
potential officers over the Internet and at universities with large
minority populations. Nineteen rookies will be enrolled in the next police
academy, the largest class in years, he said.

In his presentation to the council, McCarthy said he would like to form a
chief's youth advisory council and develop cultural awareness training for
police officers.

"We need an opportunity to sit down with the kids and talk to them,"
McCarthy said. "Kids have the answers. We need to listen."