SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Kyle Kroll has served as South Orange’s police chief for roughly half a year now, yet he knows exactly the direction he wants to move the department. And it is easy to understand why — though Kroll officially took over from retiring Chief James Chelel in October, he started as acting chief in January 2016 and has been with the department since 1988. In addition, he grew up in South Orange and is a product of its public school system.
In other words Kroll knows the SOPD, he loves the village and he understands that the best way to keep South Orange safe is to build relationships with its residents.
“When you engage with someone, it helps break down the barriers,” Kroll told The Villager in a phone interview earlier this month. “It gets rid of some of the preconceived notions perhaps one individual may have for another. (We need to) engage people and let them know we are there to protect and serve and that we are humans too. We’re emotional people too. We’re fathers, we’re brothers, we’re sisters, we’re mothers, we’re cousins — just like they are. We just happen to have that badge on our chest.”
But the police cannot accomplish that by staying behind their desks. That is why Kroll said it is a priority to get officers interacting with local civilians and business owners, even if it is just to shoot the breeze. Building such a rapport will eliminate the types of tensions seen in places such as Ferguson, Mo., where the police-involved shooting of Michael Brown sparked national controversy. At the same time, he said, the police can utilize the public’s “wealth of information” to help fight crime.
Of course, community policing is not new to South Orange. The department has issued positive behavior citations to area youth and holds Coffee with a Cop get-togethers with residents annually, among other initiatives. The SOPD also has a community relations officer in Sgt. Adrian Acevedo, who even offers free home surveys, visiting residents’ houses to inform property owners about how to improve their security. That program has been around for years, but Kroll said many people do not know it exists. He hopes more people will take advantage of it.
Still, Kroll plans to introduce more community-policing measures. He said he has already hired four new officers and may hire three more. That is beneficial, he said, because it allows for more foot patrols so police can interact with the public and put a friendly face on law enforcement.
Additionally, the chief said he and the Rev. Terry Richardson of First Baptist Church are putting together a Situational Awareness and Intellectual Development program meant to prevent racial issues from occurring between police and minority residents. According to Kroll, the SAID program’s first event, now being planned, will be a forum in which people can share their feelings on any topic. And attendees can learn more about organizations that will be present, including the NAACP.
Overall, Kroll said the gathering will be a way to combat ignorance and bring the community closer together.
“It’s open to everyone because we’re there to discuss everything,” Kroll said, mentioning bail reform, the internal affairs process and immigration as possible conversation subjects. “We’re there to build as many bridges as we can and close the gap on lack of information across the board as best as we can. That’s our goal.”
Officers will themselves receive an education soon. Kroll said Acevedo recently received implicit bias training so that he can in turn teach the SOPD how to recognize unconscious prejudices they may have and prevent them from influencing how they treat community members. The chief said the training will be extensive, thus it will be spread across the coming months. He hopes all officers will complete the training by summer’s end.
Community policing is not Kroll’s sole objective, though. The chief said he also wants to focus on improving the department’s technology, pointing out that he has already overseen the installation of new vehicle cameras and is currently working on upgrading the radio system. He said those and future updates are necessary to make the SOPD more efficient and effective. They also simply allow the department to keep up with the times, he said.
“The world around us is becoming more and more technical every day,” Kroll said. “Law enforcement can’t fall behind.”
Though he has only been the official chief for a matter of months, Kroll is earning praise for these accomplishments and goals. Village President Sheena Collum in particular feels he is proving why he had the unanimous support of the administration and governing body when it was time to select a new chief.
“Chief Kroll has been a true pleasure to work with because of his customer service mentality and strong management skills,” Collum told The Villager in a March 13 email. “I know he takes every crime or resident concern very personally. He works long nights and has always proven himself to go above and beyond for our village. He has my full faith and support, and I feel honored to work with him.”
The village president lauded Kroll’s commitment to pedestrian safety, pointing out that his willingness to hire two new traffic officers, increase checkpoints, deploy the Cops in Crosswalks program and enforce line-of-sight ordinances has had a noticeable impact on the village. Collum said the SOPD averages close to 800 summonses a month now, which are numbers “off the charts.” And that is all in addition to the chief’s commendable work enhancing safety education with community groups, she said.
Collum has also been impressed by Kroll’s commitment to community policing, especially his desire to meet with everyone from elected officials to clergy to residents in order to understand concerns and develop solutions. Collum’s predecessor, Alex Torpey, who got to know Kroll during his time as village president and through his involvement with the rescue squad, agreed that the chief’s ability to connect with the community will help to reduce crime since citizens will feel more comfortable cooperating with police. Torpey said South Orange’s crime rate dropped significantly during his four years in office as a result of the SOPD being a “model” police force.
What also helps a police department is having the latest technology, so Torpey is glad to see Kroll continuing to focus on making upgrades as Chelel did. The former village president said new tools — such as license plate readers — really multiply what the SOPD can do with limited manpower. And when the officers are already as good as they are in South Orange, he said, the exemplary level of police work is enhanced with the integration of technology.
Yet what helps Kroll specifically, according to Torpey, is that he has roots in South Orange. Having grown up in the village certainly gives the chief an added insight into the community, he said, which will help him to understand what residents want and how to satisfy them. Plus, he said, it instills a passion for the village in its police chief.
“When you’re from a community like that, I think you’re always going to want what’s best for it,” Torpey told The Villager in a phone interview earlier this month. “When you think back to how much that community has given to you, it kind of motivates you to always do your best job because you always want to give back to that place and see more kids get to grow up in a town like that just the way that you got to.”
South Orange definitely means a lot to Kroll, who described it as a community, “built on a foundation of people who truly care.” Looking back on his months as chief so far, he said he is proud to have reached the pinnacle of his profession — a position in which he can contribute fresh ideas and positive changes. It may be a challenging job, but the chief said he is up to the task.
When it comes time to retire, Kroll said he only wants to leave the department in a better place. And he hopes his officers will have learned one thing from him in particular.
“The organization and the community are bigger than their own personal agenda,” Kroll said. “This is not a selfish job. We have to give of ourselves for the betterment of the department and the betterment of the community.”
S. Orange Village native leads police in community relations added by Sean Quinn on
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