Christina Jedra

The News Journal

"We got nothing to show for our money," City Councilman Bob Williams said.

Mike Purzycki's administration will require reports for consultants, adviser said.

Former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey was paid $112,000 last year to be a consultant for the Wilmington Police Department.

In the months following the completion of the seven-month contract, residents have asked: Where is the report of his findings and guidelines?

No such report exists, The News Journal has learned.

"To date, Mr. Ramsey's advice has been delivered in verbal form," wrote Assistant City Solicitor Sanjay Bhatnagar in a response to a Freedom of Information Act request for "any and all reports or written guidelines" from Ramsey.

Police Chief Bobby Cummings did not ask Ramsey, a high-profile law enforcement expert, to produce any written reports or guidelines, Bhatnagar said, even though officials and Ramsey himself had committed to them.

Ramsey stated in a City Council public safety committee meeting last year that he would generate a report, a city recording shows.

"I am in close contact with the chief and provide him regular verbal feedback, but I will also put something together in writing," he said at the Feb. 8 meeting.

Cummings answered questions at that meeting regarding a report. He said there would be an "executive summary and/or any other recommendations the commissioner may come up with" at the end of Ramsey's contract term.

Loretta Walsh, chair of the Public Safety Committee, said she recalls Ramsey's promise. Walsh said council members should have been harder on him.

"We should’ve insisted that a written report be available," she said. "We just assumed. He’s a professional. He was renting himself out as a professional, and as a professional, he should’ve provided a written report (even if it wasn't required)."

The chief requested Ramsey advise on "an array of public safety matters," Bhatnagar said, including the review and formulation of the use-of-force policy to align with U.S. Department of Justice reforms, the use of data analysis for crime reductions, the 2015 Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission Final Report and the Targeted Analytical Policing System.

Cummings said last year Ramsey also would help the city implement recommendations of President Barack Obama's 21st Century Policing Task Force, of which Ramsey was a co-chair.

A year later, Wilmington is facing the most violent start to a year at least since The News Journal began keeping records in 2011. There have been 21 shooting incidents and eight homicides, quadruple the number of shootings and homicides at this time last year. Twenty-five people have been injured by gunfire since the new year.

City Councilman Bob Williams, a former police officer, said he doesn't believe Ramsey had any impact on public safety and the lack of a report is "highly unacceptable."

"If you’re making that much money looking for solutions to problems, you need to document something," Williams said. "I’m not satisfied with a verbal report that can’t be passed on to the new administration. ... We got nothing to show for our money."

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Attempts to reach Ramsey were unsuccessful.

Former Mayor Dennis P. Williams said at the time of Ramsey's contract signing that Ramsey would not be required to write a formal report when his contract ended. Ramsey's contract, which was not put out to bid, doesn't require a report. Williams said the consultant's impact would be visible to residents through increased public safety.

“He is here to drive crime down,” said Williams, who has called Ramsey a "personal friend."

In February, Williams walked back the statement, saying that Ramsey would likely create a report, which may or may not be made public.

Alexandra Coppadge, then a mayoral spokeswoman, said at the time that the contract was "intentionally vague to allow the chief and Commissioner Ramsey to adjust the flexibility and issues as they may arise."

A subcontractor, Ramsey's former deputy police commissioner in Philadelphia, Kevin Bethel, received $42,000 of Ramsey's $112,000 cut, according to the contract. A message left with Bethel was not returned.

Councilman Williams said Mayor Mike Purzycki's staff should try to document what was gleaned from Ramsey's input and continue the practice for future consultants.

"I would recommend that we have some kind of documented outcome, a desired outcome versus an actual outcome, and it has to be substantiated by reporting or statistics," he said.

The Purzycki administration has asked Cummings for information on Ramsey's input, said John Rago, the mayor's deputy chief of staff for policy and communications. Cummings did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The News Journal.

"Reports or at least written information is used to determine how well the consultant delivered on the original reason why you brought them into the city," Rago said. "It's a little difficult without a written report to determine if the money was worth it. ... We’ll certainly make it a rule in this administration to ask that a report be filed if we choose to bring in consultants to advise us."

Last year, Ramsey also took roles at the Chicago Police Department as a senior adviser to guide civil rights reforms and at Drexel University as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow for the school’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation. This month, CNN announced Ramsey will be a contributor as a law enforcement analyst.

Councilman Williams said he believes the former mayor saw Ramsey as "a big-ticket name to hang on your re-election campaign."

"Once the election was over, and Dennis lost, we never heard about Ramsey again."

Contact Christina Jedra at (302) 324-2837, cjedra@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.