Police Chief Rico Boyce. Photo taken by RaleighNC.gov
Written By: Ashe Draxinger
Rico Boyce, soon to be sworn in as Raleigh’s 31st police chief, has been working at the Raleigh Police Department for 25 years.
He is taking over former chief Estella Patterson’s position. Patterson retired from her position on March 1st and had served the community for three and a half years.
Out of 51 candidates all attempting to succeed Patterson, Boyce was the one selected to take the role.
Boyce started his police chief duties on March 1 and will be sworn into his position on April 2.
“I think [Boyce] will be an excellent police chief,” said Beth Kusko, an associate professor of political science and the program director of criminal justice, political science, and pre-law at William Peace University.
As the new RPD chief, Boyce will be leading the department with over 900 individuals; 792 of them being sworn officers.
The city of Raleigh is nothing new to Boyce, he has been working in Raleigh for years as a patrol officer, school resource officer, and has worked under the gang suppression unit.
While working in the southwest Raleigh district, he earned the titles Sergeant, Lieutenant, Watch Commander, and Captain.
Boyce even started the ‘cops on blocks’ initiative, which helps connect officers with the residents they serve.
“With Raleigh’s growing population, Boyce set a goal of increasing the department’s officer count to 1,000 — an increase from the 726 officers currently on staff. However, he stresses that maintaining and supporting existing officers is just as important as recruiting new ones,” said Spectrum News 1.
Boyce has shown dedication to the Raleigh community not only by serving as an officer, but also by joining and participating in many professional organizations.
“I really want to focus on those blind spots and those silos where the police in certain parts of our community probably haven’t had the best relationship,” Boyce said in an interview with Spectrum News 1.
Boyce greatly values the community of Raleigh and also values keeping the community safe and cared for.
“I need to make sure my officers are well,” said Boyce, “and make sure my employees are well to make sure they have everything they need when it comes to their physical health, their mental health, spiritual health, and financial health”.
EDUCATION
Boyce attended North Carolina Central University, where he obtained a Bachelor of science degree in criminal justice. He also attended Pfeiffer University where he earned his Master of Business Administration degree.
Boyce also partook in the administrative officers management program at North Carolina State University, and in Quantico, Virginia partook in the FBI national academy.
WHAT IS A POLICE CHIEF
A police chief has a big job, no matter the city. But their job is more than just supervising the local police department. A police chief also has the responsibility of implementing new initiatives and addressing problems that may arise within the community.
Any chief of police is required to oversee activities and operations of many things including law enforcement, crime prevention, and crime suppression programs.
Typically, everyone underneath the police chief will report to the chief whereas the chief themself doesn’t report to anyone specific.
The chief of police in any city is the department’s highest-ranking officer.
“It’s a lot, and especially now as Raleigh grows and we have like a million people that come into the city everyday for work, Raleigh PD really needs strong leadership that can understand the role of RPD in our community” said Kusko.