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Greensboro seeks public comment in police chief search

The Greensboro Police Department is looking for a new leader. A search for police chief is underway. The process includes gathering public input. File photo: KERI BROWN/WFDD

The City of Greensboro wants public input to help in the search for a new police chief.

The process includes a series of virtual meetings that begin this week.

Greensboro officials say even before the job posting for police chief is crafted and advertised, they want to get feedback. Three meetings will be held on Zoom this month to collect that information — two this week and one on August 31.

Brian James announced his retirement in April. He now leads UNC police in Chapel Hill.

Teresa Biffle, a longtime veteran of the department, is currently serving as the interim police chief. 

Greensboro Assistant City Manager of Public Safety Trey Davis says the process also includes an online survey to engage the community.

“Some of the questions people will see are, 'What challenges and opportunities do you feel the next police chief will face?" says Davis. "Another question could be, 'What should be the top three priorities of the next police chief?' The survey also allows for a portion for comments that the person participating may have.”

Davis says as the candidate pool narrows, in-person meetings with the community will also take place. The online survey will run through the end of September.

The city has hired a consulting company to assist with the search and plans to fill the role of police chief by the end of the year.

Greensboro is North Carolina's third largest city, according to U.S. Census data. As of last week, police department officials say there were 26 homicides in the city. That's two more than the previous year during the same time period.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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