OLIVER DEPARTS

Richmond is a tough place to be a resident. In certain areas the
street crime all but imprisons honest citizens in their own homes.
Someone witnessing a murder has to think twice about whom he tells,
and what he says, because he might be the next to get a bullet in the
back. The pressure to take drugs, or deal them, makes life even harder
for some children who already face a host of intimidating challenges.
Richmond also is a tough place to be a cop. In larger cities - such as
New York - organized and semi-organized crime bosses impose a certain
level of discipline on their underlings. A drug dealer who shoots a
police officer has more to fear from his superiors than from the men
and women in blue. Ironically, the lack of what legitimately can be
called gangs makes Richmond a more dangerous place for law
enforcement.

And Richmond is a tough place to be the Chief of Police. When Jerry
Oliver came to the city six years ago, he inherited a force often
operating on autopilot, lately led by someone who - whatever other
commendable qualities he possessed - took too much of a caretaker
approach to the job. Things needed shaking up.

Oliver made them shake like a cork ball in a cop's whistle, and
generated about as much noise in the process. He cleared out deadwood,
reassigned senior personnel, started a citizens' police academy, led
the charge on community policing and Project Exile, and worked so
tirelessly even the Energizer Bunny cried "uncle."

Not that he has walked on water. Apparently operating on the principle
that it is easier to get forgiveness than permission, he went more
than $4 million over budget. He has ruffled feathers and stepped on
toes - all in the interest of getting sufficient attention for a
problem to get it resolved. He can seem, at times, a bit of a showboat.

But he is entitled to. Crime in the city has dropped dramatically, and
the general trend nationwide cannot account for all of the decline.
Oliver has won over citizens who formerly viewed policemen with
suspicion, if not open hostility. If he made enemies, they were the
right ones. And high among his accomplishments is creating an
expectation throughout the community that the police department will
give 110 percent.

Soon the Chief will depart to take over Detroit's force. Richmond will
miss him sorely, and will have a hard time finding someone of similar
caliber and capability to replace him. If you were to ask Oliver what
was accomplished on his watch, he no doubt would rattle off a host of
items great and small. But as they say in the sports world, it ain't
bragging if it's true.