can there be two police chiefs at one department

Can Two Police Chiefs Run One Department?

I know what you are thinking. What in the world is he talking about? I’m not crazy.  A City government decided to split the responsibilities of the Police Chief between two people and give them two different titles. The Decision The Mayor and Chief Administrator of the City of Albuquerque recently announced after an exhaustive search, that they appointed Harold Medina to serve as the Police Chief.  Chief Medina currently serves as the Interim Chief.  However, their announcement didn’t stop there. They also appointed another candidate, Sylvester Stanley, to a newly created Superintendent of Police Reform position. Click here to read an article about these appointments. Some people were disappointed that an internal candidate, Medina, was selected. But, at the same time, other people were cautiously optimistic that the new position can create more accountability within the Albuquerque Police Department. Duties & Responsibilities If you have two Police Chiefs, how do you divide up their duties? Here is what Albuquerque did. Chief Medina will be responsible for fighting crime, the recruitment of officers, and building morale.  On the other hand, Superintendent Stanley will be responsible for the Police Academy, Internal Affairs, and will work with the Department of Justice on…

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Sir Robert Peel’s 9 Principles of Policing – Principle #9

I am continuing my series of articles about Sir Robert Peel's 9 Principles of Policing.  Today, my focus is on Principle #9. Principle #9 To recognise always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them. How do you measure how well a police department is performing?  According to Sir Robert Peel, it is by the absence of crime and disorder.   Yet this response seems overly simplistic and doesn’t take into account the many factors that influence crime. Factors That Influence Crime According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there are various factors that influence the crime rate for any particular area.  Some of these factors include population density and the degree of urbanization, age and gender of the population, the transience of the people, poverty level, job availability, median income, modes of transportation, education level of people, family conditions, and climate. [i] Of course, this is not an exhaustive list.  Instead, it is evidence that reducing crime is a more complicated proposition than first evident. In my career, I can recall instances when crime rose despite the department's best efforts.  In other…

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justice

Sir Robert Peel’s 9 Principles of Policing – Principle #8

I am continuing my series of articles about Sir Robert Peel's 9 Principles of Policing.  Today, my focus is on Principle #8. Principle #8 To recognise always the need for strict adherence to police-executive functions, and to refrain from even seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary of avenging individuals or the State, and of authoritatively judging guilt and punishing the guilty. The police serve a specific role in the criminal justice system as part of the executive branch.  The legislative branch makes the law, the judicial branch interprets the law, and the executive branch (law enforcement) enforces it. Each branch operates independently, although all three are intertwined. The separation of roles in the criminal justice system is designed to ensure fair treatment of people in each stage. Police officers are responsible for arresting individuals who break the law and have the legal authority to take another person’s life under certain conditions. Offices should not take that responsibility lightly. Even so, the police should never act as judge, jury, and executioner.  To the extent possible, police officers should do everything within their power to preserve life.  Deadly force should only be used if there are no other options. The…

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