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PHOTO/PAUL WILLIAMS III

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe champions relationship-building as a crime-fighting tool. “The more confidence we give the public to help us, we’re going to be able to do a lot of great things,” he says.

Rodney Monroe’s approach to crime fighting is connected to building relationships.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s police chief, The Post’s newsmaker of the year, has set out to strengthen bonds between law enforcement and the communities it protects. In 2009, it resulted in less crime compared to 2008, despite an economic downturn that has put thousands of Mecklenburg residents out of work.  Through the end of November, crime was down 19 percent compared to the same time a year earlier, with violent offenses dropping 21 percent. Property crime dropped 18.7 percent. Fifty-one homicides – considered the acid test of security – were reported through November, compared to 74 a year ago.

In 18 months on the job, Monroe has changed CMPD’s culture to put more officers on the street, which he says raises law enforcement’s profile. The Post interviewed Monroe at his office on his first 18 months on the job, his approach to policing and why he takes murder personally. Answers are edited for space and clarity.

Q: How would you describe your tenure so far?

Monroe: “It’s been somewhat of a blur. It’s gone by so fast that after 18 months you wonder where it’s all gone and some days you feel like you can account for every day depending on the issue. But for me, I go in head first and I dive into whatever situation I’m in and make sure I give it my all.”

Q: How do you balance your job with family.

Monroe: “The persons who pay the most attention to my time is my family because they monitor that very closely to make sure I have some kind of relative balance. Not that I can always do that, but they try to keep a good perspective.”

Q: You’ve put more emphasis on reaching out to communities. How important is it to crime prevention?

Monroe: “It’s a people business. It’s about citizens, it’s about businesses, it’s about people who make up a community. I don’t believe you can police them from afar, you’ve got to get up close and personal with people to find out what their needs are; what their concerns are and build that trust.”

Q: Who are your law enforcement role models?

Monroe: (Former Washington, D.C., police chief Isaac Fullwood, now chairman of the U.S. Parole Commission) “was very hands-on and never avoided controversial issues. He was always part of the community. He taught me those things and I still practice those things today and I think those things helped me be successful.”

Q: Crime has decreased during a recession. Does it surprise you?

Monroe: “Crime has different cycles and with those cycles you have to be willing to address it head-on. I don’t think we can sit back and wait for a series of things to happen before we react. I think we have to be proactive, we have to anticipate what some of the problems are in communities, what some of the trends are as it relates to crime and get out in front of it. In order to do that, we have to have a group of people who are going to be responsible for things 24 hours a day.”

Q: The murder rate in Charlotte-Mecklenburg is down from 2008. Is it community activism, police work or another factor that’s responsible?
Monroe: “(Law enforcement must) set the tone. We say it’s important, we say we’re going to do something about it. Our close rate is about 80 percent this year; the national average is around 58-59 percent. You ask citizens to help you identify the people who are committing these crimes to get them off the streets quickly. I think it’s a combination. The public plays a big role in that. The more confidence we give the public to help us, we’re going to be able to do a lot of great things.”

Q: You’re hands-on attitude includes going to every murder scene. Why?

Monroe: “There’s no more horrific crime that can be committed, not just upon a person, but upon a community. That has an effect on people and when you see crime as a whole, that’s one of the crimes I keep a pulse on because it has something to do with a community and whether a community has the strength to take charge of what’s going on. …I don’t think any community should have to repeatedly experience that. We have to show that care about that particular crime, and know we’re willing to bring forth the resources to investigate that particular crime and bring resolution. I believe the quicker you can get a murderer locked up, the greater opportunity you have to prevent another murder because that person can’t go out and kill anyone else or be killed themselves.  And a community can have confidence that a murder isn’t walking through their neighborhood.”

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