Full Text
Employment Opportunity: Chief of Police I Salem, Massachusetts I 1 POSITION PROFILE C H I E F O F P O L I C E City of Salem, Massachusetts I Mayor Kim Driscoll ---PAGE BREAK--- Employment Opportunity: Chief of Police I Salem, Massachusetts I 2 COMMUNITY The City of Salem is located in Essex County, Massachusetts and is one of the most historic and well-known municipalities in the U.S. It is a quintessential New England community full of history and significant architecture while serving as home to more than 41,000 residents and a vital, diverse business community. Salem is located approximately 20 miles northeast of Boston. The City is home to institutions and landmarks including The House of Seven Gables, Salem State University, Pioneer Village, the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, Salem Willows Park, and the Peabody Essex Museum. The city’s neighborhoods include the historic residential neighborhoods in the Federal Street District and the Charter Street Historic District. Founded in 1629, Salem, the “City of Peace” is a small city with a big history. It is the second incorporated city in Massachusetts (April 1836) and the second oldest settlement in New England (settled four years before the settlement of Boston). While Salem has been long known as the “Witch City” due to the notable witch trials of 1692, Salem also played a prominent part in Revolutionary times and was an active leader of several Massachusetts’ industries. In the early part of the 19th century, Salem’s ships were pioneers in the India trade and opened commerce with the farthest reaches of the globe. In Salem will you find mansions of some of the country’s first millionaires alongside the densely populated urban neighborhoods. Salem’s 18.5 miles of tidal shoreline also include seven public beaches. ---PAGE BREAK--- Employment Opportunity: Chief of Police I Salem, Massachusetts I 3 GOVERNMENT Salem is governed by a Mayor-Council form of municipal government. The Office of the Mayor is responsible for ensuring that the visitors, businesses, and residents of Salem are provided with the highest quality of services and assistance that is available to them and that is within the jurisdiction of the Office. The Mayor’s Office is accountable to all individuals and municipal employees within the City of Salem and provides constituent services in a concise and business-friendly manner. The City Council features elected representatives from the city’s seven wards as well as four councilors at-large. Mayor Kim Driscoll was first elected in 2005 after serving on the City Council previously. She inherited a city with a recent history of poor financial management and record deficits. She ran on a platform of open, professional and inclusive government. Using professional and sound practices, Mayor Driscoll managed to turn those deficits into record reserve funds and saved taxpayers’ money through the use of technology and finding efficiencies through regionalization, reforming municipal health insurance, and bidding public contracts. Under her leadership, Salem has been turned into one of Boston Magazine’s “Best Places to Live.” POPULATION Salem is a diverse community. As of the most recent census, the population of the city stands at 43,226, with Latinx residents comprising 19 percent of the city. The city is also 6 percent Black, 2 percent Asian, and 77 percent white. More than 15 percent of the city’s population speaks Spanish as the primary language in the household. The city is densely populated, with nearly 5,000 residents per square mile, and has a significant younger demographic, with a large proportion of people between ages 20 and 29. The City of Salem seeks to create and promote leadership in the Salem Police Department that is reflective of its population. Progress has been made, but much work remains. As of 2019, 16 percent (12 members) of the police department are Hispanic, Latinx or Black. Salem is a culturally and economically diverse community. It is also vibrant and active, as home to the oldest continuously operating museum in the U.S., a major state university, the largest hospital north of Boston, a National Park Site and regional visitors’ center, the county courts, and a large natural gas power plant. Salem welcomes one million visitors each year, including hundreds of thousands in the month of October alone. Salem’s next chief should be able to build partnerships throughout the community and have demonstrated experience equivalent to that which they will encounter in Salem, including experience with large-scale, multi-agency events. ---PAGE BREAK--- Employment Opportunity: Chief of Police I Salem, Massachusetts I 4 CALLS FOR SERVICE • 20,000+ per year PRIORITIES • Communication and transparency • Police legitimacy and social justice • Diversity, Procedural Justice, and Fair & Impartial Policing EDUCATED WORKFORCE • Rising number of officers with advanced degrees • Rising numbers of EMT’s and officers with specialized certifications • Addiction and Recovery evidence-based awareness • Behavioral Health training and certifications SALEM POLICE DEPARTMENT F I R S T C O N S T A B L E 1 6 3 0 Salem’s first constable was John Woodbury, appointed in 1630, four years after the settlement of the community. Today, there are more than 100 sworn and civilian employees comprising the modern-day Salem Police Department. Salem, a city of maritime history, along with Newburyport, Massachusetts, are the only two cities in the nation that still formally give the title of City Marshal to the leader of the police department. M I S S I O N The Mission of the Salem Police Department is to enforce laws, protect individual rights, lives and property and to arrest those in need of arresting, cite those who need citing, assist those who need assisting, in order to improve public safety for everyone, reduce crime in our community, and diminish the fear of crime. We will utilize problem-solving strategies that focus on crime prevention, dispute resolution, and foster enhanced communication, cooperation and involvement with the community. We will treat people with dignity and respect and deliver the highest standards of police service and assistance to all. We will do this with pride in our profession and with professionalism worthy of the badge. D E D I C A T I O N The Salem Police Department is dedicated to the principles of community policing. The agency is dedicated to maintaining and continuously building relationships and trust with members of the community, including residents, business owners and visitors alike The department runs numerous divisions and special units. The four primary divisions of the Salem Police Department are: Patrol, Professional Standards, Criminal Investigation, Administration/Auxiliary and Support Services. Specialty units include bicycle patrol, Community Impact Team, Dive Team, LGBT Liaison and Records. The department also oversees Animal Control and Harbormaster duties and maintains a K-9 unit and honor guard. The agency is accredited by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission and is a member of the North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC). The Department includes 97 sworn officers, including the chief, four captains, eight lieutenants, 14 sergeants and 68 patrol officers. The Department’s FY21 budget is $10,705,403. ---PAGE BREAK--- Employment Opportunity: Chief of Police I Salem, Massachusetts I 5 Advancing historic Salem further into the 21st Century THE CANDIDATE The ideal candidate to serve as the next Chief of the Salem Police Department is someone who will focus on continued, deliberate, mission-driven improvement of the department with an eye toward not only crime control, but also partnerships with and quality of life for the city’s more than 40,000 residents, hundreds of businesses and hundreds of thousands of visitors per year. Mayor Driscoll seeks a candidate with the strength of character and leadership ability to drive Salem forward. The ideal candidate will be a modern leader who understands the role a properly functioning police department can play in a thriving and healthy society. The Salem Police Department can only be successful if it has the faith and trust of the people. The next chief should build on the department’s community policing philosophy and immediately seek to form working partnerships with community, civic and cultural organizations. Furthermore, the candidate chosen to lead the Salem Police Department must be thoroughly committed not only to the profession and to the department, but to the entire community by ensuring that the highest level of transparency and accountability exists within the entire organization, which all foundational are pillars of Mayor Driscoll’s administration. The next police chief should be able to make difficult personnel decisions and manage challenging budget choices without ever losing touch with the rank and file members of the department and the priorities of the communities. An ideal candidate should be both an adaptive, transformational leader and an astute problem-solver. The ideal candidate should have a relentless commitment to training and professional standards. The candidate is expected to have a demonstrable track record of dedication to professional standards and training—and the evolution of training in policing. There should be an emphasis on implicit bias training, procedural justice, restorative justice and police legitimacy. The next chief is also expected to develop and maintain a robust communications platform for reaching out to and informing the public, city government partners and the news media in a timely and transparent manner. ---PAGE BREAK--- Employment Opportunity: Chief of Police I Salem, Massachusetts I 6 QUALIFICATIONS Experience, specifically in a management or supervisory capacity, in an urban law enforcement agency is looked upon positively. Graduates of major policing executive development programs including the FBI National Academy, the Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management Institute for Police and/or Police Executive Leadership Institute are encouraged to apply. Possession of a valid Massachusetts Driver’s License is required. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS The City of Salem offers a competitive salary and benefits package. Benefits include municipal defined benefit pension system, health/dental/vision insurance, a uniform allowance, deferred compensation programs, flexible spending account, vacation and sick leave, and holidays. APPLICATION AND SELECTION The City of Salem seeks to recruit a qualified and diverse candidate pool to participate in an open competitive assessment center pursuant to a delegation agreement between the City of Salem and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Human Resources Division. Application deadline: January 11, 2021 How to Apply: Apply online at RedBlueJobs.com Following initial application, candidate’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal characteristics will be evaluated through a civil service assessment center on date(s) to be determined. ---PAGE BREAK--- Employment Opportunity: Chief of Police I Salem, Massachusetts I 7 In a normal year, more than 50,000 visitors descend on Salem annually for the City’s Halloween weekend festivities. Front cover image credit: By Fletcher6 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Inside/rear cover image credit: Creative Collective