Police Leadership Through Quotes of Chief Charles Ramsey

I thought it would be a great idea to write about a number of successful police chiefs across the country and provide their view of law enforcement and leadership.  What better way to do that than through their quotes.  The first guinea pig for this project is Chief Charles Ramsey.

Most aspiring law enforcement leaders are probably familiar with Chief Charles Ramsey.  For those leaders that are not familiar, let me provide some of his background.

BACKGROUND

Chief Charles Ramsey started his career with the Chicago Police Department.  He join the department in 1968 and spent 30 years with the department, rising to the rank of Deputy Superintendent before retiring in 1998.

After his retirement, Chief Charles Ramsey was appointed Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia until 2007.  In 2008, he became Chief of the Philadelphia Police Department until his retirement in 2016.

Chief Ramsey graduated from the FBI National Academy.  He has his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Lewis University.  Chief Ramsey has served as President of the Police Executive Research Forum as well as the Major Cities Chiefs Association.  In 2014, President Obama selected Chief Ramsey to serve as Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on 21^st Century Policing.

As you can see, Chief Ramsey has served in many challenging law enforcement positions.  He has also been a progressive leader when facing the law enforcement challenges of today.  Chief Ramsey speaks with conviction and is not shy about sharing his opinion.

Before we examine some of his quotes, here is a quote about Chief Ramsey.

“Commissioner Ramsey is widely respected both for his expertise in combating terrorism and as a visionary police leader in the arena of civil rights and police-community relations,” Mr. Greenblatt said. “He is widely recognized both inside and outside of law enforcement as one of the profession’s most important and influential leaders in American law enforcement and has always believed that a law enforcement leader must also be an educator, mentor and role model.”

I hope you enjoy and benefit from some of his quotes today.

QUOTES

“It didn’t take a mental giant to figure out that you needed to answer the questions in a way that would be consistent with the direction that they were taking the department.”

“We can’t tell officers to treat people with fairness and respect and expect them to listen if officers themselves don’t feel treated with respect.”

“We have to work together to establish relationships and trust.”

“The police have to conduct themselves over and above what is expected of other people.”

“Crisis is what causes change to happen.”

“Why wouldn’t there be an issue of race and policing when there’s a problem with race in America?”

“A leader is only as good as the people working for him, and we have an outstanding group of individuals in the department.”

“It really did stimulate thought. It stimulated emotion. It got people to really understand what it means to be a police officer and how unique our role is in society and how important our role is.” (Comment about Law Enforcement and Society, LEAS, program)

“Well, I’m going to let you in on a little secret, I’m not perfect, and I’ve never pretended to be perfect.”

“I’m not the same person today that I was 12 years ago.  You do grow, and you do develop a deeper understanding of making sure things are done properly.”

“My whole thought process now revolves around protecting people’s constitutional rights.” Chief Charles Ramsey Share on X

‘We know we have issues. Let’s aggressively go after it, and let’s deal with it. And let’s get these people out of our ranks.’ But we gotta send a strong message that that kind of conduct is simply not going to be tolerated.” (In response to a question about problems inside the Philadelphia PD)

“I mean, people want to march, and want to protest whenever there’s a police shooting or something like that. But where’s the same outrage when you got a pregnant woman shot and killed and her baby dies? That’s not to minimize people getting assaulted, whether it’s in Center City or whether it happened right here. But I mean, come on.”  (In response to a question about why people are not protesting when other people are dying)

“Well, a little later on,” he said, “Because, you know, you think at first it’s just about locking up bad guys, but it’s not. It’s really about making communities safe. We should be trying to starve the criminal justice system, not feed it.”  (In response to a question about when he changed his thought process from locking people up to the right for people to sit on their stoop)

“I’ve got mixed emotions there. We need people in the right state of mind, not in an altered state of mind. And I don’t want it to be perceived that it’s okay now, and we’re somehow endorsing people, you know, getting high. Not having a record’s one thing, but to hold a job is a whole different thing, and you can’t do that if you’re high every day.”  (His response to a question about marijuana possession)

“Most departments engage in community policing now. We’ve made inroads, and we pat ourselves on the back about that. But when you look at Ferguson, and you look at some of the more challenged areas in our city, we have yet to really reach the people there to a point where they trust us, where we’ve gained legitimacy in their eyes.”

“Oh, there’s a lot left undone. You ever watch the Olympics? The 4×100-meter relay? Your job is to run as hard as you can and fast as you can, and then smoothly hand off to the next person to run their leg. That’s what being a police chief is all about. You get the baton. You try to make some forward progress with it, and when I hand it off to the next person, hopefully they’re in a little better position than I was in.”  (In response to a question about his time as Chief in Philadelphia)

“Life turns on a dime.”

“The profession of policing is still based on the principles of Sir Robert Peel, and yet our profession changes and reflects the values, social structure, technology advancements, and political demands of the times.”

“Technology is a powerful tool.  Moving forward, we must be thoughtful about technology. We must drive technological solutions to our problems and not be driven by the technologists. We will increasingly face challenges surrounding the issue of individual privacy versus public security.”

“What if public safety was measured by graduation rate and not just incarceration rate, or harm reduction and not just arrests,” Ramsey said. “What would a COMPSTAT session look like? And who would be sitting at the table?”

“We certainly must build on what has worked for us so far, but we can’t afford to hold onto the status quo. We must constantly strive toward excellence … We must lead our departments into this interdependent, complex, and global world for which we are charge with keeping the peace.”

“The problem with being a line is that you’re separate and apart from those two things. You’re really not a part of either side. I like to think — and as I’ve gotten older and more mature in this job, I’ve come to see — a more accurate metaphor, in my opinion. It is one in which seem as a thread woven thorough the communities we serve — a thread which helps hold those communities together, creating a tapestry that reinforces the very fabric of democracy.”  (His comments about the thin blue line)

Although Chief Ramsey has had his share of controversies, he will long be remembered as an outspoken police chief who was not afraid the speak the truth.

I have met him on several occasions, listened to a number of his speeches and understand why he is recognized for his contribution to our profession.

I hope his comments have sparked some thoughts of yours.

Please comment below or email me if you have others police chiefs you would like me to feature.

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