Israeli police officials meet with local chiefs
Members of the Israel National Police visited with local counterparts to discuss law enforcement issues.
NORRISTOWN » Community policing issues were the primary focus when Montgomery County law enforcers, including police chiefs from Pottstown, Norristown, Whitemarsh and Towamencin, met with their counterparts from the Israel National Police.
The county sheriff on Thursday hosted a roundtable discussion, focusing on building best practices in community policing, which was attended by local law enforcers and a visiting delegation of Israeli police officials.
“I think that any time you have the opportunity to reflect on your own work through the eyes of somebody else trying to the do the same thing it’s going to be valuable for you and for them,” said Norristown Police Chief Mark Talbot, adding the same principles apply “whether you’re talking about Israel or you’re talking about Norristown or Pottstown or another state.”
“We’re all doing our best to save people’s lives and I think that the way to do that is clear at times and sometimes it gets more clear as you speak to other people trying to do that job,” Talbot added.
Officials agreed that local police and their Israeli counterparts likely face similar challenges in their communities.
“I think the issues of deprivation and the hardships that people go through that ultimately lead them in a certain direction are going to be universal,” Talbot said.
The goal of Thursday’s meeting was to share ideas.
“We’re looking at ways to remedy problems in a mutual fashion,” said Pottstown Police Department Chief F. Richard Drumheller. “Pottstown and Norristown have very commonality in some of our problems and I’m sure the Israeli delegation has the same thing and we’re going to be able to talk and meet and communicate and do all those things that will help us understand what’s going on in their community and ours.”
Barak Mordechai, chief superintendent commander, Petah Tikva Police Station in Israel, said he was impressed with local police operations.
“It’s been very interesting to be here. We work in some places differently than you work but in a lot of cases the challenges are the same and our units are the same,” said Mordechai, adding the Israeli delegation was interested primarily in community policing. “So, we’d like to hear and learn about the policing community challenges here and how you’re facing them. This is the main goal of our delegation.
“We always seek new things to do, to do differently, to improve our service that we give to the public,” Mordechai added.
The delegation previously visited Boston and Philadelphia.
“We learned a lot. We saw a lot of models that we need to go home and do our homework and see how we can take those ideas and do it better in Israel,” Mordechai said.
Mordechai agreed that Israeli police and their counterparts in the U.S. face the same challenges.
“The same challenges, the same problems. People want to live in a better place, so it doesn’t matter if it’s in Israel or in states or in Europe, the same problems,” Mordechai said.
The Israeli delegation, which also included Israeli Police Community Police commanders Dudi Hayun and Sigal Toledo and Consulate General of Israel in New York Director of Regional Affairs Michael Alexander, toured the courthouse during the morning.
During an afternoon roundtable discussion the topics included: image of community police and public trust in the police; training for police working with diverse populations; collaboration between police forces; and community cooperation.
County Sheriff Sean P. Kilkenny said he was more than happy to facilitate the discussion.
“We support local police departments so I wanted to bring in an expert panel of police chiefs… all from diverse communities throughout the county to share information with our friends from Israel,” Kilkenny said. “I think it’s been great.”
Towamencin Township Police Chief Paul T. Dickinson was pleased to participate in the event.
“We all face the same basic issues. Policing is the same, pretty much everywhere, just with its own little twist based upon the nature of the community and the populace that you’re serving,” Dickinson said.
Whitemarsh Township Police Chief Christopher P. Ward also participated in the program.