Chris Poirier, an old friend and former Rutland resident, writes with his own list of what the city should be looking for in a police chief:
Candidates should be a chief level officer in a city of similar and/or larger size
Candidates should hold minimum educational, training and certification requirements. (CALEA certified police force, A.S./B.S. in criminal justice and/or police studies, etc.)
Candidates should have experience with community oriented policing models.
Candidates should have history of crime reduction and increased enforcement.
Candidates should be creative in applying minimal resources to difficult problems. (..duh.)
Candidates should understand public relations, public media and citizenship engagement.
Last I knew, he was working for the Department of Homeland Security -- albeit in a fire safety capacity -- so I figure he has half a clue what he's on about. More than me, anyway, and I already shot my mouth off on the subject.
He goes on to say most cities convene search committees of five to six people and suggests Rutland will get better results from the International Association of Chiefs of Police if we have a clear picture of what we're looking for when we approach them.
update: Chris writes to say he's been out of fire safety for a while and that his job at DHS is most simply described as "information sharing and collaboration."
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