Chief Fitzgerald needs our patience, and a map

Fort Worth is two and a half times the size of Philadelphia.

That sounds unbelievable, but it’s true of land area. And therein lies the challenge for new Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald.

As chief of narcotics investigations in Philadelphia before working his way up as a city police chief, Fitzgerald worked neighborhoods as tough as Fort Worth’s, but not as far-flung.

That makes neighborhood policing both more difficult in Fort Worth and also more essential.

For residents living miles from City Hall, patrol officers may be their primary contact with city government. Fitzgerald wants officers to work at knowing neighborhoods and solving problems from call to call, which includes rolling down the car window to have conversations and hear concerns.

The first months are always hectic for a new chief. Fitzgerald is getting to know both city officials and police association representatives, along with residents and neighborhood officers.

Nothing is easy for a police chief these days, and no chief can keep everybody happy. Fitzgerald brings plenty of big-city and suburban experience, but he needs time to learn his way around the city, all 350-plus square miles of it.

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Chief Fitzgerald needs our patience, and a map."