The Richmond Police Department has stayed free of public accusations of police brutality as “Black Lives Matter” demonstrations grow locally and across the nation to protest atrocities by white police officers in the black community.

The nearly 740-officer force has garnered mostly praise for its community policing efforts to gain closer ties with neighborhoods in the city it serves.

Incoming Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham vows to take those efforts up a notch.

“There’s always room for improvement,” the 51-year-old Washington native and current Richmond Police deputy chief of administration said Monday after he was introduced by Major Dwight C. Jones as the city’s next police chief in a news conference at City Hall.

The mayor named his new top cop as a national furor grows over killings by white police officers of unarmed black men such as Eric Garner in New York City in July; Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson, Mo., in August; and Rumain Brisbon in Phoenix in December.

In Richmond, young people in recent weeks have demonstrated and staged “die-ins” in Downtown and in the Fan District to draw attention to the police killings and the overall neglect of the black community.

“I want to acknowledge that at this time, as we know, many cities across this country are struggling with poor police relationships between the police officers and their communities,” said Deputy Chief Durham. “Richmond has been spared thus far, but I strongly believe it’s because of our belief in community policing.”

Deputy Chief Durham will serve in his current position until Chief Ray Tarasovic, 66, officially leaves his post Feb. 20.

The incoming chief said he would like to add body cameras to the police force, if and when funding is provided, to help prevent incidents of police brutality.

“I think body cameras are important because they capture that engagement with the community and I think it’s an accountability tool,” he said. “When there’s a camera in place, you’re going to put on your best face. I think it benefits the community and how we conduct ourselves.”

He also said he would push for a more diverse police force.

Recent data supplied by the police department show more than 31 percent of the city’s police force, or 232 officers, are African-American in a city with an African-American population slightly higher than 50 percent.

“Richmond is doing it right, but it’s my job to make sure we continue to move forward to have diversity that’s representative of the community we serve,” Deputy Chief Durham said.

The incoming chief, whose salary will be $165,000 annually, pledged to keep the department moving forward in its community engagement efforts.

“That’s what solves problems. That’s what makes communities safer,” he said.

He said he is formulating a 100-day plan to get his administration off to a smooth start and he plans to become a fixture in the community.

“I’m a hands-on guy,” the deputy chief said. “I don’t believe in sitting behind a desk. I believe in management by walking around. I will be in those communities. I will have those officers walking around with me, telling me people they know.”

The mayor said he has tasked Deputy Chief Durham with two goals: To keep crime rates low and to continue community policing policies.

“We’ve had five straight years of violent crime reduction, with rates the lowest in the 40 years I’ve been in Richmond, and that’s helping to fuel the ‘Richmond Resurgence,’ ” the mayor said, using the phrase he used in his State of the City speech four days earlier.

Rumors of Deputy Chief Durham’s imminent promotion to become the city’s new top cop began flying after Chief Tarasovic named him to his leadership team in November.

Deputy Chief Durham had retired a month earlier from the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, where he most recently served as assistant chief. He was responsible for day-to-day operations of the D.C. police force. He first joined the force in 1987.

Chief Tarasovic has served as Richmond’s police chief for the past two years. He came out of retirement to follow Chief Bryan T. Norwood, who essentially was fired in the wake of the Chris Brown community service scandal.

Chief Tarasovic and Deputy Chief Durham are former colleagues of former Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe, who served as Richmond’s chief from 2005 to 2008, and is credited with initiating community policing efforts when he created 12 policing sectors with three sectors assigned to each of the four precincts. Both men served under Chief Monroe in Richmond.

The mayor said he moved to hire the new chief “quickly” from within the ranks of the department.

The interview panel, according to the mayor’s office, included Chief Tarasovic; Chief Monroe, who now leads the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Department; and city officials Christopher Beschler, interim chief administrative officer; Grant Neely, the mayor’s chief of staff; and Debra Gardner, deputy chief administrative officer.

“We looked only at leaders within the city of Richmond, those that have deep experience in the Richmond community,” Mayor Jones said.

The candidates also included the two other deputy chiefs — Eric English, deputy chief for operations; and John Buturla, deputy chief for support services.

“As a veteran of the D.C. police force, Chief Durham knows how to handle major events,” the mayor said. “He planned the Presidential Inauguration in 2005. …This experience gives me great confidence as we prepare for the World Championships of Cycling in September. I know we’ll be ready for the biggest event Richmond has ever seen.”

Deputy Chief Durham has maintained a home in Southern Barton Heights for a decade.

“I would like to thank Mayor Jones for the opportunity to lead what I feel is one of the finest police departments in the country,” said Deputy Chief Durham. “Policing is a noble profession, a profession that I have dedicated my life to. Over the course of my career, I’ve realized incredible rewards, but being named police chief for the City of Richmond tops the list of those rewards.”

Mayor Jones said the new chief brings a wealth of experience to his new job.

He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He holds an associate degree in corrections administration from the University of the District of Columbia.

He served in the Marine Corps for 17 years. He said he enlisted in October 1982 as an infantryman after watching the movie “An Officer and a Gentleman.”

In 1986, Deputy Chief Durham left active duty and joined the reserve forces while enrolled in the police academy.