Comments from the public will be used in evaluating the 40 applicants vying to be police chief.
Holyoke Mayor Elaine A. PlutaHOLYOKE – About 50 people attended a meeting Monday to discuss qualities they want in the next police chief.
Some said the new police chief should mirror the retiring Chief Anthony R. Scott, but others called for a leader with more compassion.
For Sandra Robinson, of West Franklin Street, the main issue when it comes to the boss at the Police Department was safety.
“Since Chief Scott came here, I have not been afraid to go out at night, which I was before,” Robinson said.
A screening committee that Mayor Elaine A. Pluta has appointed led the hour-long meeting at the War Memorial, 310 Appleton St.
Comments from the meeting will be used in evaluating the 40 applicants vying for the job. The committee will recommend four or five finalists to Pluta, who is authorized to hire the chief.
Scott has been chief since 2001 and is retiring April 30. His yearly salary is $133,164.
Some residents said that while Scott was successful as a tough-on-crime chief, the city also needs a chief willing to establish measures to prevent crime instead of just locking up bad guys.
The next chief should be willing to engage in more community involvement and increase deployment of foot and bicycle patrols, others said.
“It’s going to cost us less if people stay out of jail than if we have to put them back into jail,” said Carlos Vega, of Portland Street.
Vega was on the committee that former Mayor Michael J. Sullivan formed a decade ago to screen candidates in a process that led to the hiring of Scott.
Debra Vega, co-owner of Vega Yoga & Movement Arts here and Carlos Vega’s daughter-in-law, is a member of the screening committee. Her husband is City Councilor Aaron M. Vega.
Migdalia Rios, of Holyoke, brought the room to a hush as she recalled the Sept. 5, 2010, shooting death of her son, Jean Carlos “Jon Jon” Laguer, 16.
“I just hope the next chief will have compassion for parents (of murdered children). We need somebody with compassion. Since my son got murdered in Holyoke, we lose the trust,” Rios said.
Yesenia J. Jusino, of South Silver Street, said important factors for the next Police Department leader to know are that Holyoke’s population is nearly half Hispanic, many people here are poor and people need help beyond just being locked up for crimes.
“And we need somebody who understands that,” Jusino said.
William F. Welch, of Martin Street, said the city needs a chief who is strong on law enforcement, not a social worker, of which the city has plenty.
Neighborhood meetings and bike patrols look and sound nice, but don’t work, he said.
“Let the police chief enforce the laws. If someone is breaking the law, deal with it,” Welch said.
But Scott wasn’t far from the minds of many commenters, such as Robert M. Beringer, of Walnut Street.
“Hopefully, this committee will choose the next police chief as well as” the current one was chosen, Beringer said.
Screening committee Chairman Joseph M. McGiverin reminded the gathering that under the city charter, the mayor has sole authority to appoint the chief. That means the mayor wasn’t required to appoint such a committee or have public meetings like the one at the War Memorial, he said.
“I felt it was very important that I have some input from the public before I make a decision,” Pluta said.
Still, Pluta has been criticized for her handling of the process, including by Alex B. Morse, who is running against her in the fall election. Critics have cited the failure of the screening committee’s meetings to be open to the public and Pluta’s appointing the committee too late to allow for a replacement to be in place when Scott leaves.
An interim chief will have to be appointed between when Scott departs and a new chief is hired. Pluta appointed the committee in late November.