WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — In his first 30 days as West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley said he's spent a lot of time meeting the men and women who keep the city safe.
"I've met some great people internally here, we have a great police department," said Adderley.
The chief said the roadblocks he and the police force face involve relationships with high-crime communities.
"If there's one thing I think that we can work towards in terms of trying to build a better relationship, it would be with that particular part of the community," said the chief.
Adderley stepped into the position at a time when the police department has at least 50 unsolved homicide cases since 2016.
Most recently, detectives made two arrests last month in a double homicide case that occurred on Australian Avenue in April. Adderley said he can't take credit for those arrests or other recent ones, like in the armed burglary on North Flagler Drive.
"I think the true story was they were investigating these cases and they got some good leads and they were able to make some arrests," said Adderley.
Adderley said there's work to do on the north end of the city and says he hears the demands for more patrols. He says visibility is one part, but there are other strategies officers are using too.
"When you look at certain areas, just because you don't see the police, doesn't mean the police isn't there," added the chief.
Adderley said he learned fairly quickly what is causing the violent crime in the north end of the city.
"What I noticed initially when I came here is the open drug sales," he said. "It appears to be the underlying issue here. There’s a turf war between certain groups that feel that they have another group that's intruding on their area which they normally sell. That normally leads to a turf war; drive-by shootings is pretty common when you deal with those particular groups."
ShotSpotter technology and the Real Time Crime Center are a huge asset to helping officer responds to scenes faster.
"I give credit to Chief Mooney for bringing it here to West Palm Beach. Technology is something that changes every day, I think our commitment here would be to continue to grow through technology," said Adderley.
The chief is still working on implementing daily crime briefs. He says he's pleased with the turn out he is seeing at community engagement meetings.
