LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The results are in; city officials now know what qualities and characteristics Louisville residents want in the city's next police chief.
Mayor Craig Greenberg said 1,214 people responded to a survey on what traits residents want to see in the next permanent chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department.
"Selecting who permanently leads our police department is an extraordinarily important decision and we want to receive all the community input we can," Greenberg said.
The survey found a majority of respondents want the next chief of police to focus on reducing crime, changing the culture of Louisville Metro Police and building trust with the community while holding officers and staff accountable.
It was available online through Louisville Metro's website.
Of those who responded, 74% of the people are white, just 16% of the responses came from Black people and the other 10% came from other ethnicities.
WHAS11 spoke to community leaders who were shocked by the number of responses.
"Honestly I wish there had been a larger participation rate by minorities and African Americans," Simmons College official J. Michael Brown said.
Russell neighborhood leader Jackie Floyd has raised concerns that the survey was only online and not well publicized.
She said there must be a partnership between the Black community and the police.
"Will the police chief enforce the rules of the department they have, instead of every time something happens, we make a new policy when you have policies in place to meet," said Floyd.
The survey found more than 70% of respondents believe a track record of reducing crime and promoting community safety is the most important quality for LMPD's next chief.
Of those who responded, 64%, believe tackling Louisville's crime problems should be the chief's top priority, and 55% specifically mentioned curbing the city's gun violence problem.
In terms of what personal qualities Louisvillians want in LMPD's next chief, nearly 80% said "honesty and integrity" should be the top leadership qualities.
"What they're saying is, whoever is going to be the next police chief, they want them to be what, we refer to a,s transparent but they want them to be honest to the community," Brown said.
The mayor's office said they are still in the process of going over community responses from virtual town hall meetings.
"I'm very pleased that so many people took the time to share their thoughts on what they want to see in our next permanent Chief of Police," Greenberg said. "We will make sure to make good use of this input as we move forward."
The survey was conducted by Public Sector Search and Consulting, Inc., which is assisting Metro Government in the search and selection of the next chief, the mayor said.
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