A Fresh Face in Law and Order

"He is tough and professional. I am convinced that he is by far the best choice for the job." With these words University Vice President Daniel Steiner '54 announced the appointment of Harvard's new Chief of Police. Paul E. Johnson, last November.

"Deputy Johnson has served the Department and the residents of the City of Boston with distinction. He has performed in the finest traditions of the department. His leaving creates quite a gap in the ranks of the command staff and he will be missed."

With those words. released to the media across the city at the same time as Steiner's announcement. Joseph C. Jodran. commissioner of the Boston Police Department. accepted the resignation of Johnson. a veteran commander of the Area B district.

But Johnson's appointment also brought allegations of poor management during his seven-year tenure as head of the district. A considerable group of supporters blame these problems on budget cutback. Johnson speculates that "some-one is obviously trying do a job on nic."

Up from the Bottom

Johnson is not the typical University administrator.

The new Chief of Harvard Police has survived nearly 25 years of police work. He began his career the bottom, as a patrolman on the beat in Roxbury in 1957. He moved through the officer ranks during the 1960s. promoted from within the department, his colleagues say. not because of political friendships but because of ability. In 1977. he became a deputy superintendent in the Boston Police and commander of Area B. one of Boston's most crime-ridden districts. encompassing Roxbury. Dorchester and Mattapan.

Johnson succeeds Saul L. Chafin. widely credited as one of the most successful Harvard Police chiefs ever for his generally successful efforts in rebuilding department morale after the troubled tenure of his predecessor. David L. Gorski Gorski become unpopular. current officers say. for what they call arbitrary decisions and an officers that made dialogue difficult.

Ceafin left the department earlier this year to accept a similar position at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Tenn., saying he was accommodating his wife. who wanted to live in the South

Criticism of Past

While Chafin was sharpening the Harvard Police in the '70s. Johnson became deeply involved with the problems of Area B His six years as director were a difficult time. the new chief admits. Critics charged that while he was Area Commander. certain crimes in the area. notably drug-related incidents, increased.

The reason, they say. involved reluctance by police to combat the problem. with considerable responsibility for this failure attributable to Johnson Community leaders like the Rev. Bruce Wall. Minister to Youth at the 12th Baptist Church in Roxbury and co-founder of Roxbury's Drop-a-Dime Program. charge that Johnson had difficulty communicating his ideas to the police on the street who then had to implement them. Such a lack of communication. Wall and others complain, made Roxbury and surrounding areas unpleasant places to live during the past decade.

However. many of these same critics are quick to note that in his last year in Area B. Johnson brought about considerable improvements in the police protection in Area B. While drug abuse continues to he a severe problem in the area. police have climinated some of the most flagrant examples of abuse.

Johnson and his supporters admit to considerable drug problems in Area B. but they blame the crime rate on declining police budgets. Fewer police means more crime and, Johnson's supporters argue. officers at the top unfairly become scape goals.

Poor Teamwork

"There were a few people in a high level of command who would not accept orders from a Black deputy." Wall says. "There were certain people who were making it difficult lot him to get what he wanted to do done He hucked some command stall who wanted to see him destroyed, or some politicians who wanted to see him destroyed," the minister adds.

Wall, declining to identify specific individuals. describes the problems faced by Johnson as primarily inter-departmental. "Somehow word would get to the drug traffickers before we could make the busts...some officers were on the take."

Various members of the police staff at Area B refute allegations that Johnson had difficulty communicating with his force. Officers unanimously praise Johnson's accessibility. "I don't think he had any problem communicating with people at all. I can't remember anybody complaining about that," says Detective Carl Washington, who worked under Johnson for several years. "He was very easy to talk to," adds Patrolman James Amieno.

"He was fair to all his men and women. He was very easy to talk to, but it was clear who was the boss," says Richard C. Cox, head of the detective unit at Area B for the past 18 months and a 16-year veteran of the Boston police force.

Honor

Amieno is currently organizing ticket sales for an "appreciation dinner" in honor of Johnson. The fete, which Johnson describes as traditional, should attract more than 400 staffers at $22 each. Police at Area B describe this turnout as half again larger than usual. The size of the guest list, they say, indicates that Johnson was a well-liked commander.

Johnson characterizes his policy as "open-door." "An open-door policy is a leadership style that I try to maintain. If there was not enough communication it was because they weren't listening," he says. Late last year, when criticisms about communications first surfaced. Johnson says he was surprised by the allegations. "I don't know where that first came from. I had no problems with my subordinates."

Officers in the department agree on their assessment of blame for the area's high crime rate. Lack of adequate resources. they say, prevents them from patrolling their area properly or following up thoroughly on crimes.

"He did the best he could with the resources he had If there wasn't enough from HQ. It would show," Cox says. Cox noted that in his detective department. staffing had fallen from 50 detectives in the early '70s to 14 when Johnson arrived, with just six full-time detectives now working in Area B. "You just can't do the same work with six men as you could with twice that," Cox says, adding. "In the days when we had 20 day detectives and 10 night detectives they would be assigned B & Es [burglary cases] unless the victim has an idea the crime or there was a direct witness."

Frustrations

In responding to questions about his greatest frustrations while commander of the Area. Johnson frequently refers to the shortage of re-resources. "I was appointed commander directly after Proposition 21/2 [the tax-cutting measure passed by Massachusetts voters in 1980]. The Boston Police department lost 17 million dollars." he says. The result, according to Johnson, "was a terribly traumatic period. For the first time in memory. we had to make layoffs". In one year. the Area B police force lost 30 percent of its budget. In police budgets, the vast majority of money is used to pay for personnel. and the cuts in officers were heavy. "We went from nearly 350 staffers to closer to 200." Johnson says.

"In Boston I'd want more men around to combat certain types of problems," the Chief says, adding. "I'd look around and see that I was bound by a computer. I didn't have enough flexibility." He says that frequently problems would be allowed to get "to the point where they couldn't be avoided any more." At that point central planners would allow him to hire officers with overtime pay on an emergency basis. "It was not an effective way to fight crime," he says.

Another manpower problem arose during the early '80s, when community pressures for walking patrols forced the reinstitution of the traditional "cop on the beat." "Pretty soon every neighbor-hood wanted its own walking cop." Johnson says. "We just didn't have enough manpower." The problems extended from inadequate manpower through a shortage of patrol cars for his men.

Police sources distinguish between these problems and the reality of a hard working. well run police force "[Accusations of incompetence] are a crock of garbage. Paul did the best possible job he could. He never dodged tough situations. I don't think he had any greater problems than anybody else. just more pressures." Thomas says.

Workers in Area B are more vociferous. "Those [accusations] are made by people that really weren't informed. I think you have some people. like Rev Wall. who have proclaimed themselves leaders of crime and law enforcement efforts." Cox says "They do a lot of talk but they don't have resources to back up what they say. It's a lot easier for them to say it than to do it," he adds.

"I think it [accusations of mismanagement] are a very unfair attack on the fellow," Steiner says.

Wall agrees that Johnson ultimately overcame the shortage of resources. "Poor Paul Johnson didn't know who to trust. But he finally did [make a decision]. He took a stand and stayed with the community the people of good will." Wall says. "Once we developed a relation of trust we were able to keep the information within ourselves--and avoid the leaks Now we have virtually arrested the drug traffic on Sonoma Street," he adds. According to Wall. as recently as last summer "there were stores. that everyone knew about. where owners were selling drugs across the counter in broad daylight to children. as bold as can be" Such stores have virtually disappeared. he says.

Leader

Throughout discussions with friends and associates an impressive picture of Johnson as a leader emerges Colleagues say he earned the respect of his charges largely because of his patrolman past.

"Harvard's got an old pro there. He's paid his dues. He's a street officer. not a 'bank' officer." says Anthony G Paolillo, chief of the Cambridge Police Department. Paolillo says he has known Johnson for several years, and he was also a friend of Chalin and has had a long-running association with the Harvard Police. "The old cliche about police officers is that the ones that work their way up work the best." he adds.

"He earned his position. He worked his way to Sergeant on the beat and in the cruisers. He wasn't politically inclined [a political appointee] like some people," says Lewis G. McConkey. a detective at Area B and 28-year veteran of the Boston Police. Johnson's past gave him increased authority and a more effective style of command, McConkey adds.

"He's honest.and that's important around here. There were no bribes. no corruption associated with him while he was in charge of police here." Thomas says. adding. "I had. at the end. to take my hat off to Paul Johnson and commend him for paving the way to community unity." Wall says. "The community has never been as involved with the drug problems as it was last summer" and that made all the difference," he adds.

In racially tense Boston, some sources say. Johnson's race made things difficult at times. "He was the second highest Black in the Boston Police Department. Automatically that creates a problem. It's a given," Thomas says. However. most agree that Johnson took whatever difficulties came his way in stride. "You're bound to meet someone along the way who'll judge you not because of your abilities but because you're a Black man." McConkey says. "But that wasn't something that deterred him. It wasn't a problem." he adds.

Johnson agrees that occasional tensions were apparent. but says they had no effect on him. "I never felt any tensions at my level but there were certain tensions among the men," he says, "I am not aware and have not been aware for many years of any difficulties on the command staff and I was there for seven years. Nobody ever said anything to my face." he adds.

Johnson has rapidly familiarized himself with his new Harvard surroundings over the past two months. The lesson of Area B he says, was "to talk to everybody." To that end, the Chief says, he has had "many, many" conversations with deans, directors of security for various areas (such as the Medical School and the Business School), department command staff and officers and security guards themselves "I think I've got a pretty good handle on what's going on here. he says.

Officers who have met Johnson seem to agree with Boston police who worked under him that Johnson is an easy man to talk to "Everyone I've talked to has said he's a person that treats everyone fairly, and that's all you can expect of someone." says Harvard patrolman Joseph S. Dwyer. a 29-year veteran of the university force.

"The men, the people I've spoken to like him very much. They say he is professional and easy to talk to," says Lt. George Hill, director of the Harvard Police contingent at the Medical School.

Johnson says he is pleased to be at Harvard. At last, he says, he has the authority--subject to general controls by University administration--to implement his own security ideas. "It [being chief] gives you a greater sense of direction and control here. In Boston I was pretty steadily directed by superior officers. You were told what you could and could not do." Johnson said. "Here there is the opportunity to be more innovative," he adds.

Priorities for the future, Johnson says, include "crime prevention," and particularly, computer crime prevention. "The Chief pointed to the recent report on computer theft at the Business School--the broadest assessment of that of security in University history--as evidence of progress toward these ends.

Immediately, Johnson says. Harvard Police are investigating improvements in security for the Yard in the wake of the alleged rape of a freshman woman in her dormitory room, in conjunction with Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III and the Dean's office.