Police Chief Courts Media

NBC 4: A new vision is in place for the Columbus Division of Police as new Chief Walter Distelzweig takes over the reigns. But with new leadership comes new problems: a tight budget, no new recruiting class and tailoring specific crime-fighting strategies to the needs of its citizens.

Chief Distelzeig has spent the last 36 years working his way up the chain of command at Columbus police... He inherits a force on the verge of losing veteran officers to retirement and is being asked to do more with fewer dollars. Distelzweig hit the ground running nearly two weeks ago. “We had the President of the United States in town, had a very dear and close friend pass away and had a police-involved shooting, so it’s been busy,“ he said.

Among his first priorities is reorganizing the department. “The whole idea behind this internal look, so to speak, is we have to make sure that people are working at the times and the days that we need them,“ Distelzweig said.

As the department faces the loss of 50-plus veteran officers in 2011, Distelzweig said he plans to implement a mentor program to prepare officers as they advance. “Depending on what happens with the economy the rest of the year, our budget for 2010 obviously, I will be lobbying with the director, mayor and city council for hiring in 2010,“ he said.

Also on the chief’s priority list is returning the Summer Strike Force Initiative, acquiring funding for hiring and rehiring officers and preparing for reaccreditation. Distelzweig said his relationship with city hall is good and he feels open communication between himself, the safety director and the mayor is critical to keeping Columbus residents safe. “The major focus is doing the job with what we have and having confidence in the public to know that they have the best police department in the country,“ he said.

The division has made great strides when it comes to technological upgrades. The chief cited state-of-the-art computers in most cruisers and added that the department is working hard to enter the digital age with plans to allow citizens to file police reports online. “I don’t want to see us get to a point with technology where we are kind of held hostage in that we can’t do anything without the technology,“ he said.

Distelzweig also said he thinks the five-year term limit is a good thing because it allows other good men and women an opportunity to affect positive change in the department. “When my time is up, it’s up. Then somebody here will take the reigns in the department and that’s important that we keep the fresh ideas,“ he said.